Eternal Faith - Book 4 (The Ruby Ring Saga)

by Chrissy Peebles

  “Well, this man refuses.”

  I playfully poked him in the side. “Of course,” I mocked. “A king wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something so ridiculous.”

  Victor let out a low, deep laugh. “Are you making fun of me?”

  When he met my gaze, I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, maybe a little, but what are you gonna do about it?”

  I laughed, and he chased me into the heated pool. It was so relaxing to let go, to be carefree for a little while as the water washed over me, soothing my body from head to toe. I playfully flicked some water at him, and my gaze drifted to the water droplets cascading down his chiseled chest. I knew I was the luckiest woman in the world to have such a hot, confident man staring at me like I was his most treasured possession. I snuggled up to Victor as he held me close in his strong arms, and if only for that moment, life was beautiful.

  He smiled victoriously. “It seems I did catch you after all, milady.”

  I couldn’t stop grinning. “Fine. In that case, I’m yours for all eternity.”

  “I love spending these moments alone with you,” he said, kissing my lips.

  The spark in his kiss jolted me, reminding me of our amazing chemistry. I’d recognized it right from the very start, from the very second I had laid eyes on him in the forest. We didn’t need the so-called bond of the ruby ring, the one his ancestors swore by. Ethano had broken the connection, yet I still couldn’t get enough of my husband.

  “Yes, time alone with you is priceless, and I’m gonna milk it for all it’s worth,” I said. “I’m beginning to feel like a prisoner, all locked up in my parents’ house.” I ran a hand through his dark, shaggy hair.

  He shot me a half-smile. “If that is how you feel, it’s about time we got you out,” he said.

  I grinned, completely mesmerized by his beaming smile. “I’m loving every single minute of this, Victor.” My arms hooked around his neck, and my legs wrapped around his waist. We goofed off some more, and I even managed to dunk him a couple times. We kissed some more, and I taught him how to swim laps. We had the very best time, and I couldn’t have asked for a more terrific afternoon.

  I stared into his eyes. “I’ve been thinking.”

  Clearly, that piqued his interest; then again, he always seemed to take an interest in everything I had to say. “Yes?”

  “Part of me hopes you’ll love my world so much that you won’t wanna go back.”

  “It is a beautiful place.”

  My heart pounded as our eyes connected and silence filled the air. His grim expression gave everything away.

  “But it’s not home for you,” I said sadly.

  He sucked in a breath, obviously troubled. “No, my love, it isn’t.”

  My jaw dropped as I processed his words. I looked away, saddened by the reality that he couldn’t or wouldn’t stay in my world forever—that it would never be home to him. “That really hurts,” I said. I closed my eyes and took a deep, steadying breath, trying to clear my mind.

  “I’m not going to give you false hope. I was born to rule a kingdom. You can’t ask me to give that up when it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  I touched his face. “Of course not. I want you to be happy.”

  “But I want you to be happy also.”

  “I love Tastia, and I love being a queen in your kingdom.” I smiled. “Being there with you was...well, like living in a storybook. It’s just that your world is so different from mine, and—”

  “Are you saying you don’t ever want to return to the kingdom’s that’s waiting for us?”

  “I’m saying I-I’m torn.”

  “Torn? How could you want to possibly stay here? Hiding our powers is exhausting. Back in my world, we’re allowed to be who we are, Immortals. There’s no fear of repercussions or retaliation or a government trying to hunt us down to study us like animals.”

  “Instead, we’ll be hunted down by your archrival, Ethano.”

  “Sarah, I am not going to argue with you about this further.”

  “I don’t want to fight either, but we need to discuss this.”

  “We have years to figure it all out.”

  “I know, but I’m the kind of person who needs to plan ahead. I need to know where I’m heading, what my future holds.”

  “I never considered that we might have disagreements about which world to live in.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “I only know I love you. Isn’t that the most important thing of all?”

  “I knew this was coming. That is exactly why I was willing to leave you and come back here with my friends through the portal. I knew how much you wanted me to stay, and it tore my heart in two to have to leave you. I loved you from the second I met you, and I wondered if love was enough to conquer such barriers. Now I’m worried that it may not be.”

  “But then you decided to stay.”

  “Because I couldn’t live without you, and I still can’t. You’re my world, Victor. I would have stayed in Tastia forever if that was what it would have taken to be yours, but then things got complicated, and we came back here. Coming back here has stirred up so many feelings, so many memories for me, and I have to live here knowing that the clock is ticking. It’s like some cruel prank. I’ll get to stay for eighteen years, then have to leave. I was so homesick in Tastia, and that was after being gone for only a year.”

  “I know how you must have felt, for I miss my world already.”

  “I guess a long-distance relationship isn’t going to work.”

  “It is forbidden to move in and out of the portal every weekend.”

  I laughed. “So this is what happens when two worlds collide. Will we make it?”

  He cupped my face and stared deeply into my eyes. “If we love each other enough, Sarah, anything is possible.”

  “I don’t want to change you, Victor, but you obviously don’t fit in here.”

  “I don’t, for this is not my home.”

  “So what will you do if I decide to stay here?” I asked.

  His gaze narrowed. “I beg you not to make me choose.”

  “Answer me, Victor. Given the choice between me and Tastia, would you choose to stay with me or go home?”

  He blinked as he contemplated his answer. “I won’t leave without you, but rest assured that I would be forever miserable, never able to get over the loss of my great kingdom.”

  “I couldn’t bear to see you in that kind of pain, especially because of me.”

  “But you’ll be in the same kind of pain if I drag you off to live in my world.”

  “I would miss the modern conveniences of my world, my time. I know that might sound shallow, but I can’t help it. How can I go from all this to living in the Stone Age?”

  “You did it for a year, and while you were homesick sometimes, for the most part, we were very happy.”

  I swirled my hands around in the water. “We were. I’ve been thinking a lot about all this, and I’ve finally come to realize that you have more to lose than I do. You’re royalty. You own a castle and rule a kingdom of so many people who love and adore you. You were born to be a king, and it’d be selfish for me to take all that away from you.”

  He kissed my hand. “We need to live in harmony and work toward some shared goals. I think we would benefit more from my world. Think of living free, without fear of repercussion for being who you are destined to be.”

  “If we were exposed here, it would be very dangerous,” I said. As soon as the words left my lips, I realized that I couldn’t possibly let Victor go back to Tastia without me. Leaving him was not an option; he was like the air I breathed, and I would follow him anywhere. In the meantime, for a few short years, I would enjoy my real home and the people in it.

  A serious expression washed across his face. “We will conquer Ethano. Do not worry about that.”

  I bit my lip. I wanted to believe him. We would have to destroy Ethano if we were ever to have any peace or safety living in Tastia. It would have been useless
to go back right away and try to conquer the tyrant; the vision had warned us that we didn’t have a chance. For the time being, our best option was to let our son grow up and then go back for battle.

  “But...what if we don’t? What if we can’t defeat him?”

  “You needn’t worry about that, My Queen. I will conquer Ethano and put an end to his reign, and then we shall establish order and peace and make our world a better place to live in.”

  Victor spoke with such confidence that I almost believed him, but the doubts nagging at the back of my mind wouldn’t shut up for long. “You sound so confident.”

  “That is only because I am,” he stated victoriously, true to his name.

  I reflected on his words. “If we could get the blue-ringed Immortals on our side somehow while we’re here, they could drain him of his powers in a heartbeat.”

  Droplets of water fell from his hair. “Hmm. That is not a bad idea, my love. Perhaps we could establish trust and an allegiance with them.”

  I looked at him skeptically. “That’s not going to be so easy, considering that most of them are trying to kill us.”

  “We have to be extremely careful about letting them into our world. They are extremely dangerous. They are capable of draining our powers, and there is no guarantee that they are not powerful enough to overtake us. I will not live under anyone’s authority.”

  “We’ll study them for a while and see if the opportunity presents itself. I know it could be dangerous to let them into our world, but what about Dr. Meyers? She doesn’t even have to fight. Her presence alone is enough to short-circuit their power.”

  “And ours too.”

  I inclined my head. “Maybe, but at least it would put you on an even playing field.”

  Victor sighed. “No more talk about our future or Ethano,” he said, his eyes burning into mine. He softly kissed my lips and brushed my wet hair off my shoulders. “I just want to get lost in those big, brown, beautiful eyes of my wife, my beautiful queen.

  His warm breath against my ear was intoxicating. I smoothed my hands against the thick muscles in his arms and chest. A wet lock of hair fell across his eyes, and I gently brushed it back. He pressed his mouth on my lips and swirled his tongue around mine in a slow, sweet, passionate gesture that he knew I loved. My heart raced as he pulled me closer. His touch was amazing, and it electrified me. My body was growing hotter by the second.

  I broke from his embrace, still gasping from the mind-blowing kiss. “Let’s not get carried away in my aunt’s pool, Victor.”

  “But surely we’ll finish this tonight, a, uh...rain-check as you say?” he purred in my ear.

  I smirked, my cheeks burning. “You can count on it.”

  He smiled, gazing into my eyes. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too.”

  Chapter 6

  I was reading a pregnancy book my mom had bought for me. When I got to the chapter on “Labor and Delivery” chapter, I gasped. I couldn’t imagine going through all that pain, and my mind went wild with every worst-case scenario that could possibly happen. As much as I’d been through in my life, I still harbored a deep fear of the unknown.

  My mom glanced up at me. “What is it, honey?”

  I blew out a long breath. “I don’t think I can do this.”

  “It isn’t like you have a choice,” Dad said with a snort, looking up from his newspaper. “And don’t listen to Liz with all her labor pain horror stories.”

  My mom sat next to me on the couch and patted my hand. “Giving birth isn’t easy, dear, but you can do it. Don’t worry, sweetie. Your body was made to this. I promise it won’t break you. Women have been having babies all throughout history.”

  “But I have such a low pain threshold, and—”

  “Pssh! Once you’re in full-blown labor, all those endorphins will kick into high gear, and you’ll be just fine.”

  I glanced down at the book again. When I read that I might lose control of my bowels right in front of everyone, I was mortified. The thought of Victor, the doctor, and the nurses seeing that was humiliating. I slammed the book shut in complete and utter disbelief. “Where’s Liz with our takeout?” I asked, trying to change the subject. Not to mention, I was starving.

  “She should’ve been back by now. Then again, she’s been fighting with Charles, so maybe she needed some time to cool down. You know your sister.”

  I dialed her on my cell, but she didn’t pick up. “Something seems odd here. I’m gonna go check on her.”

  “Honey, there’s no need to drive up there. I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “I need some fresh air after all that reading. I’m a nervous wreck. I just need to get out, so the drive will do me good.”

  “Okay, but make sure they give you breadsticks. They forgot them last time.”

  I smiled. “Breadsticks. Got it.”

  The wind whipped across my hair as I walked down the sidewalk to my mom’s car. A twig snapped through the trees, and I glanced in that direction. Victor broke through the vegetation carrying a long, heavy log over his head, presumably strength training and oozing sex appeal.

  I let out a long whistle. “Hey!” I shouted over to him. “You stick out like a sore thumb.” I giggled.

  “What?” he asked. “No, my thumb is fine, my love.”

  I rolled my eyes and tried to remind myself to stop with the modern-day idioms and phrases. “Uh, never mind. It’s just that we don’t usually work out that way. Why don’t you use my dad’s weights in the workout room?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t like them.”

  “Well, it’s way too cold to jog,” I said, “and it’s starting to get dark.”

  “I have to keep my strength up,” he said, gasping between breaths as he threw the log down. “Back in Tastia, I had a very intense training regimen, and I must maintain it.”

  “I remember you pitting your strength against your knights in wrestling, rope-pulling, rock-throwing and all those other manly games.”

  “Would you care to joust with me? You may use any handheld weapon of your choice,” he asked.

  “It’s very tempting, but, uh...”

  He laughed, knowing very well that it wasn’t my kind of thing.

  I couldn’t help but smirk. “Listen, babe, running around the neighborhood with a log over your head is bound to draw attention. We’re supposed to remain inconspicuous, remember?”

  “Would you rather have me run with a heavy sword and in fifty pounds of chain armor.”

  “Goodness no! That would draw too much attention to us.”

  He smiled, knowing he’d made his point.

  “Use the log,” I said. “If anybody asks, tell them you’re training for a boxing match.”

  He kissed my cheek. “Where are you headed, love?”

  “Liz went to get dinner and hasn’t come back. She won’t answer her cell phone either. I was just going to go check on her.”

  His eyes widened. “I’ll go with you.”

  “I’m sure it’s not the blue-ringed Immortals. She got in a fight with Charles, and I’m sure she’s just taking some time to herself to cool off.”

  He started to head to the car. “I’m coming with you anyway.”

  I playfully grabbed his sweaty shirt from behind. “You’re not getting in my car smelling like that, mister. You need a shower.”

  He took one whiff of himself and laughed. “I do smell quite like a pigsty, don’t I? I’ll clean myself up and see you when you get back.”

  “Okay. Sounds like a plan.”

  “Do be careful, My Queen.” And with that, he gave me one last kiss and rushed into the house.

  Thanks to my Immortal-charged ears, I could hear rock music blasting through the walls before I even stepped through the door of the grill. I walked in to pick up our food and look for Liz, but even though I could hear her over the crowd and through the laughter, I didn’t see her anywhere. I hurried down the hall and into the poolroom, where I found my sist
er, dressed in a low-cut red sweater and tight black pants. Several men were gathered around her, drooling like hungry dogs over a juicy steak.

  Liz picked up the $500 bill and slammed it on the table. “Okay, boys, this is my last shot. If I make it, I win everything.”

  “She’ll never do it,” a thin man whispered in a fatter man’s ear.

  “Not in a million years,” another said with a laugh, then sipped his cocktail.

  “Oh yeah?” Liz questioned, finishing her drink and slamming it down on the table. “Just watch me.”

  She angled the pool cue in her hands and leaned forward. She closed one eye as she leaned forward and focused. My sister had always been the dramatic one, and she was really playing it up. She pulled the pool stick back and hit the cue ball hard.

  I couldn’t let her make the shot and win; we couldn’t bring any attention to us whatsoever. As the white ball was getting ready to connect with the last remaining ball, I focused my energy. I could feel the familiar tingles, but that was all. My powers were off balance and didn’t seem to be working properly. I threw my hand back to create a huge gust of wind, but all I managed was a slight draft. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it sure did the trick. The ball rolled left, off course, and barely missed the last remaining ball.

  “Good game,” I heard a few men say.

  Liz let out a few curses as the men laughed and gave each other high-fives. Glaring, she turned and met my gaze. “Sarah!”

  A tall man nudged Liz. “Who’s this?”

  “That would be my annoying, troublemaker, holier-than-thou sister.”

  I shook my head. “Let’s go home.”

  “You just ruined everything!” she roared.

  My gaze connected with hers. “You’re really something, you know that? You’re supposed to be picking up our food, not gambling, and especially not using your special talents.”

  “My powers!”

  “I was trying to be discreet,” I said in a heavy whisper.

  A man chuckled. “Uh, her ‘special talents’ had no effect on me. She thought she could distract me with that gorgeous body, but it didn’t work.”

  “Her powers of persuasion didn’t work whatsoever,” another man said.