by Susan Reid
I think I had a pretty good idea of its interpretation but I wasn’t sure. I suppose that’s why I’ll have to retrieve the rest of it, which should be an interesting venture.
I wondered why he saw the need to keep this text hidden and who he had implored to write it. Why had he allowed Morning Star to claim a portion of it? And was it a coincidence that Berith had managed to take it from right under his nose and hide it from him, only to place it in my hands? Many things were coincidental lately. I think Edanai had a point when she began to add up all the components surrounding myself and Starling from the beginning.
I immediately sensed the physical change in Starling’s now rapidly beating heart.
Panic.
Snapping out of my temporary thoughts, I took a step off the ledge. My wings snapped out and spread wide, and I turned them downward in order to catch the wind. I began to float down slowly at first.
Stray curls had freed themselves from her wildly flailing pony tail, nearly covering her face. I cloaked myself on purpose, diving down and bypassing her by a vertical distance of a few feet. It was apparent that though she was calm, with her arms still splayed out on either side of her, there was a hint of both doubt and a tad bit of anxiety in her heartbeat and expression.
She was as light as a pillow, landing precisely in my arms with a grunt…just several feet from full-on ground impact. I held her cradle style in my arms against my body.
For me, it brought back a memory of when she had been injured by that moronic demon at the hospice. He had injured her ankle and she couldn’t walk. I carried her up to her apartment originally with more intent than just being a dutiful cop. It angered me to think about again, so I shifted to the fact that it did lead up to our meeting for the very first time that night too. Even though it was a planned intention on my part, I would treasure and cherish the memory of how and when we met for as long as I existed.
Her heart was racing wildly and her mixture of relief, fear, and slowly mounting anger was incredibly strong…
Shit!
I had no choice but to drop her, literally, like a burning hot coal.
“Ow!” She cried out after landing hard on her ass upon the hard packed earth.
Her body was aglow and white flames began to erupt all over her. She lit up the entire vicinity so intensely, I had to shield my eyes and turn away. Given her current condition, I instantly felt like an asshole for having dropped her the way I did. It was a reflex defensive action. Even though she was superhuman and immortal now, and her body was definitely an extremely strong fortress of protection for our growing child, I still considered her a delicate and fragile human.
This isn’t good. She’ll draw way too much attention.
The flames around her hands didn’t last as long, soon flickering and finally winking out. “I’m sorry,” I bit my lip and held a hand out to help her up, “ Though I’m sure that was nothing considering what kind of a splat you could have made if I didn’t make it on time.” I then reminded her.
She grabbed my hand and yanked herself up to her feet gruffly. “Barely! And I know that you waited that long on purpose by the way.” She pointed and glared at me. Her anger was slowly subsiding.
I laughed. “Only because it was pointless.”
“It wasn’t pointless. See? I had complete trust in you the whole time.”
“Says the sweat on your face and your erratically beating heart.” I commented with a single raised brow.
She looked at me dryly. “Natural human reactions.”
“I didn’t expect the spontaneous combustion. You really need to gain control of your fire.” I told her.
She scowled at me as she dusted off her cloak, form fitting pants, and boots.
“Well, since I’m not a robot or an inanimate object with no emotions, I can’t.” She replied.
I looked at her curiously. “It’s not linked to your emotions…at least it shouldn’t be.” I told her.
She seemed frustrated. “How would you know that?”
“Because emotions, especially in females, can be wild and out of control. I doubt very seriously that your essence would be of any use if that were its catalyst. More so, I’m referring to the most powerful emotions of all. Love, hate, and fear.” I explained to her with a loving smirk.
Though I instantly felt a sudden onrush of hot emotions begin to well up in her, validating what I just said, it was as if she suddenly realized exactly what I was thinking. It was apparent that she opted to bite her tongue instead. I smirked playfully as she eyed me with a slight, defiant pout.
“Well, it’s a good thing that I don’t hate or fear you then. But I don’t like the idea of loving you enough to possibly accidentally hurt or kill you at any given moment either. It’s like a cruel twist.” Panic masked her eyes with worry and doubt as the flames all over her body finally began to wink out bit by bit.
The visual suddenly made me wonder about our child. Surely it wouldn’t be able to sustain itself inside of her whenever she used her fire…if it were solely or even remotely of darkness. Was it even still alive then? Wouldn’t she have felt some sort of a physical reaction if that had been the case? That was peculiar and would continue to plague my curiosity until she gave birth—if she managed to give birth. The thought began to sadden and depress me so I pushed it all away for now.
“I know but it’s a chance that I’m willing to take. I don’t doubt that you’ll be able to master it soon.”
A sudden shriek split the night air, commanding attention over all the other normal night creatures and sounds. Starling instantly flinched and jumped, turning around to pan the air.
“What was that?” She hissed in a low whisper.
I carefully scanned the darkness of the trees, shadows, and landscape beyond for any scent, movement or signature.
“Yet another reason you should never do something like that again. You’ll draw too much attention to yourself if you haven’t already,” I said reaching for her protectively.
“It’s a Psyren. Definitely not females that you’d want to get to know or hang out with. They steal, use, and sell souls and auras.” I quickly told her.
Her eyes went wide and sparkled with curiosity as I held her close to me. Her body was taut against mine, slowly kindling arousal and her heart was racing once again. As long as she wasn’t feeling fear, I was good.
She glanced up at me and then cocked her ear to listen again. “It sounded like it was right by my ear.”
“Never assume that it isn’t.” I warned her.
Note to self. If her essence is linked to her emotions, never piss her off.
Giving her an affectionate, quick kiss on the lips, I secured my arm around her small waist and we began to ascend once again.
XI: Starling
Looking down into the small pouch that Jamie had given me, I was speechless. Had she really been telling me the truth? What was her motivation and what did she hope to gain out of me? A confession maybe? She had almost gotten one but instinct told me to remain quiet. So, were these four Divine Hall portal gems in good faith then? I wasn’t sure what to think. For all I know, she could be telling the elders everything right now.
However, she did clock Spencer without a second thought. Why would she have risked that though? Maybe it was a sick game of theirs every other night or something. I wondered if she made up that story about Devlin. If it was true, I was curious now myself.
All I know, is that I was glad to be with Cam again…even though I almost set him on fire.
Thinking about it now, I guess it was an insane spur of the moment act. Truth be told, I was wholly afraid, especially when Cam took his sweet time to come after me. The trust thing had been more for me, I think. I wanted to be sure that even though he was a fallen, despite what I knew to be true and what everyone said about his kind, that he was different. Okay, part of it was the thrill too. No doubt his sudden rescue of me and the surge of fear I felt intensified the arousal I had already been feeling
in his presence, and being held protectively against his warm, hard body.
Seeing him fighting and engaged in battle up close was both breath-taking and slightly scary for me. Though it appeared effortless on his part, he was vicious and precise, and he held nothing back. Wasn’t that what Jamie had described when she was talking about betraying or angering a fallen? Though I knew he was powerful, I had no idea just how strong, deadly, and magical he was—and we were supposed to fight against his kind? It was the more vile, evil, and hardcore ones that I was leery about.
I wondered what Cam wanted me to do first, though I could take a few guesses. I smiled to myself while taking in the décor of Cam’s pristine, spotless, cozy, cavern castle, which is what it resembled to me. Even the air was cool, fresh, and clean in here. That surprised me being that it was inside of a mountain and all. It was palatial in size but I suppose it had to be in order to accommodate Cam and his friends comfortably. Cam was a total neat freak. Not that it was a bad thing but that might be where we could have issues.
As I followed close behind him down the wide, oval- shaped corridor to his room, I admired the ripples and contours of muscle gently moving beneath his perfect tanned skin when he moved. He was shirtless, in nothing more than a soft-skinned, sandstone colored pants, and dark brown boots. His ‘V’ shaped physique was svelte and lithe, and he exuded an incredible, supernatural strength to go with his perfectly chiseled form. His dark hair had begun to grow out a little, curling slightly at the nape of his neck.
Jamie hadn’t been kidding about his scent. When I paid closer attention this time, taking in a deep whiff, my senses literally exploded with a delicious aphrodisiac effect, much like when we were first together under the waterfall. It started from the inside of my head, traveling quickly into the tips of my nipples, sliding into my belly, and finally settling in my groin with teasing heat. The tickling sensation came again. How could I be feeling anything like this so soon? I put a hand to my belly just as Cam turned around to face me, standing back to allow me to enter his bed chambers first.
My eyes were immediately drawn to the massive and extremely comfortably bed before anything else. I instantly blushed when I thought back to the intense, unbridled love-making that we had enjoyed not long ago.
The desire and arousal that he was kindling, probably on purpose, was making me shiver with excitement now.
“How are you feeling?” he suddenly asked as his warm hand went to gently rest on my abdomen.
“I feel fine.” I assured him.
“You’d tell me if something was wrong or if you were hurting, right?” He raised a single brow as if expecting me to say yes.
I nodded. “Of course I would.”
“Good. I have something unique planned.” He then grinned mischievously.
“Unique?” I smirked with anticipation.
“As in, it’s never been done before.” He winked, heading over to his bookshelf and opening an ornate box.
I smiled. “Well, I’m not sure I should be gone too long. They will definitely get suspicious.”
“Don’t worry, if I decide to take you back at all, you’ll only have been gone a few hours at the most.” He pulled out something small and compact in his hand.
“If you decide to take me back?”
“That’s right.” He replied matter-of-factly.
I didn’t even know how to respond to that. That may not be such a bad idea considering.
He eyed me. “Would that bother you?”
I thought for a moment as my eyes traveled to the floor, the bed, and then the bathing room off to the right, set in a spacious alcove.
My eyes finally returned meet to his. “No.”
He was seemed surprised yet relieved to hear my response though I wasn’t sure why. My hesitation had nothing to do with my feelings for him or being pregnant.
I moved over to the bed and sat down on it. The luxuriously soft, thick, fur blanket felt exquisite and warm between my fingertips.
“Has anything else surfaced regarding your memories? I mean, past what I told you and what you already knew?” Cam then asked, joining me on the bed.
He sat down next to me with a cell phone in his hand that immediately caught my attention. He was scrolling through some of the messages and briefly reading them.
“Not really.” I replied.
“Do you remember the girl in your photo album? The one with the short, reddish brown hair?”
I shrugged unsurely, trying to remember anything else associated with what Cam told me about her being my best friend. A few images of her came up in my mind but nothing distinct. It frustrated me because she was obviously important to me. She had been in so many of the more recent photos with me.
“What about her?” I peered closer at the phone, “Is that…is that my phone?” I pointed at it and furrowed my brow.
Cam nodded. “I kept it so I could keep you alive as far as your friends know.”
I was confused but it didn’t take me long to figure out what Cam was trying to tell me and why he had done all of this in the first place.
“How is it still working…here?” I wondered in awe.
He positioned it in between us so that I could see what he was reading and doing, and then he gave me a look that meant, ‘Are you really asking me that question?’
“She’s been calling and texting often, all of your friends and your places of employment have been. Up until now…I’ve sort of been stalling and returning the texts—as you. I’ve even had a female friend emulate your voice when calling her because I didn’t want her to worry or think that you were missing and assumed dead, which is the truth, but…well, you know.” He tried to explain as if he didn’t want me to get upset with him for doing so.
“Emulate my voice?” I was taken aback.
“Yeah, we ah, do that a lot when we want to jack around with humans.” He casually explained. Then, his gorgeous face turned into an expression of innocence and chagrin, and with a hand to his chest he clarified, “I don’t do it anymore though. I haven’t for a really, really long time.”
I didn’t even know what to say.
Cam handed me the phone. Feeling it in my hands instantly brought on a rush of random memories that I couldn’t really make out or piece together but China was in them. A flood of emotions made my chest tighten and my breath caught.
“What’s wrong?” Cam asked.
I looked up at him and shook my head, “Nothing.” I stared down at the phone again, scrolling through the messages and reading a few. From the looks of it, she was both worried and angry. Angry at me for behaving erratically as if I had lost my mind, or were hiding something and ignoring her. She was telling me that all of my friends were worried about me, wondering why I never talked to them or returned their calls either. She asked if I were coming home for the holidays or what? And what would I do about school since I was so far behind and missing so many days.
It was then that I realized what Cam wanted me to do. It was more for me though, that much I could gather and understand.
“I’m lost. I don’t even know what to say. Even if I did tell her that I’d be coming back, how do I explain everything else? Where I’ve been and stuff? What if I’m not able to stay?”
“You can go anywhere, anytime, whenever you want to and stay for as long as you like. You don’t need permission for that, believe me. Anyway, she won’t have a clue unless she’s chosen, which she isn’t, so she won’t be able to see your brandings either. However…” Cam trailed off and exhaled slowly.
He looked as if he wanted to say something else but was hesitant.
“What is it?” I asked, straightening my posture and studying his expression.
He paused for a long time and then turned to look down at me. “Don’t be surprised to see the young male in your album at the hall soon.”
My eyes widened. Even though I barely remembered him too, I was shocked.
“Will he remember me?” I wanted to know.
Cam shook his head. “More than likely not…unless it’s by some miracle or gift too.”
I felt disappointment.
“It’s all up to you though. All this would be pointless if you don’t plan to return there, so if you’d rather not, it’s understandable.”
Did I? Would I?
I could essentially go anywhere I wanted to now but Cam was right. I was glad that he had maintained this connection for me and it seemed as if he’d gone through a lot of trouble to do it too.
All of this had me wondering about the extent of his powers and magic. What all could he do and would he do it? Like, if I wanted several million dollars? What if I wanted to be three inches taller? A mansion on the beach? It was all very tempting but in a way, I really didn’t like him using his magic. I wanted things to be real, genuinely felt, known, and experienced not just for me but for him too.
“I tell you what, let’s not worry about it right now. Come on.” Cam took the phone from me and got up to place it back in the ornate box.
He then quickly crossed the room back to the bed, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet. He led me back outside to the wide, stone slab of jutting rock that cleverly served as an expansive patio or balcony.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” He simply replied. He raised an arm above his head and began to swirl his index finger above his head.
He began to whisper words that I could barely hear let alone make out language wise.
Right before my eyes, the circle he had traced above us began to widen, opening up into an oblong, hazy, purple-tinted tunnel punctuated by many dazzling, glittering things inside.
A portal.
“I’ve never done this before so if anything happens, just know that I meant well and that I will always love you.” Cam looked down at me with a crooked smile.
I grimaced and tried to pull away but he held me firmly to him.
He laughed. “I’m kidding! At the very least a few missing or rearranged limbs won’t kill you. You can keep your eyes closed if you want. In fact, that might be best for you anyway. No matter what, do not let go of me, alright?”