“No, it isn’t.” She tipped her head up to kiss his jaw. “It seems like a lifetime ago you were sitting out here, watching over me. Back then I was too dumb to realize Max was trying to kill me.”
“You weren’t dumb. Perhaps a little stubborn and naïve…”
At his teasing tone, she elbowed him in the ribs.
“Ouch…” he chuckled, shifting her in his arms.
“Oh, please, that didn’t hurt.” He tightened his arms around her so she couldn’t nail him again. His rich throaty chuckle was infectious, and despite herself, she laughed with him. “I love you, you know that.”
“I love you, too, Olivia. When I think of where we’ve been, and how far we’ve come, as much as I would never want to live through that pain again, I wouldn’t trade a moment of it because it’s gotten us to where we are today—to where we are right now. And in a few short hours you will become my lawfully wedded wife—confessed before God and man. You will belong to me, in every way, and I to you. I couldn’t be happier, Olivia. I just wish you didn’t have this loss hanging over your head. If I could take that pain, bear that hurt for you, I would. It was never my desire to make you choose; to take you away from those you love.”
“I know it wasn’t. And I am happy. I’ve never had a doubt that this was where I belonged—with you—forever.”
Liam tipped her chin and kissed her softly, a light, tempered lingering kiss that, despite his effort to keep it platonic, sparked a flame deep in her core. When she shifted in his lap to deepen their kiss, he broke the embrace with a reluctant groan. “We can’t do this, not out here,” he whispered, cupping her face in his strong, gentle hands and leaning his forehead against hers.
“I could go up to my bedroom and you could pretend it’s like old times and sneak into my room,” she teased.
“You’re not helping,” he grumbled. “How can I stay alert when you’ve got me tied up in knots?”
Well, that cold bucket of reality served as an effective mood-killer. She tensed in his arms and he must have noticed because his hold on her tightened. “Do you think he’s still a threat?” That she didn’t have to specify whom, proved Max was heavy on both their minds.
“I don’t know. But we’re not taking any chances. Hell knows we’ve been searching for him hard enough.”
We’ve? So he has been working with Haden—nice of neither one of them to mention it to her. “It’s only one more day,” she said for his benefit as much as her own. “It’ll feel good not to have to look over my shoulder anymore. Have you heard from Niall yet? Do you have any idea how Max got free?”
“Not yet. But as soon as you’re settled in at Landaketa I intend to find out.”
She had no doubt he’d do exactly that, but they wouldn’t go there right now. She had enough to worry about without adding a pissed-off warrior, hell-bent on killing a ghost to her list of concerns.
“It’s getting late. Why don’t you try to get some rest,” he suggested, tucking her against his chest, her head nestled snugly into the curve of his neck.
She inhaled deeply, pulling his scent into her lungs and exhaled a contented sigh. “Will you stay? I can’t seem to sleep when you aren’t with me.”
“I’ll be here, Olivia. Don’t worry. I’ll always be here.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Olivia woke the next morning—disappointedly in her own bed—alone—and to the wholly unpleasant sound of snoring; the riotous, wake-the-dead kind that set a person’s teeth on edge. Groaning, she rolled over and elbowed Kyro in the ribs. He gave a startled snort and the horrid sound abruptly stopped, but by then it was too late to go back to sleep.
The moment consciousness had her in its greedy grasp, the stress and anxiety, the mixture of elation and dread swept through her, swinging Olivia from one emotional extreme to the other. Latching on to the one thought that would give her the strength to see her through this day, she set her mind on Liam and repeated over and over to herself. “I’m getting married today.”
“I’m getting married today.”
“Why do you keep saying that? I know you’re getting married, Liv. That’s why I’m wearing this dress, which clashes with my hair, by the way. Oh! And I saw Liam in the hall on his way to the dressing room, and I think he got the memo, too, because he looked F.I.N.E. in that tux. There, all done.” Ashley finished fastening the row of buttons running up her back just as the music began to play downstairs. “That’s my cue, Liv. You gonna be all right?” she asked, watching Olivia from the reflection in the mirror. “You’re lookin’ a little…shell-shocked. Is everything okay?”
“Yep,” Olivia met her gaze in the mirror and forced a smile, trying not to cry at the thought that this was the last time she’d be seeing her best friend. I’m getting married today… I’m getting married today… “Everything’s good. When the Wedding March starts, I’ll be down.”
Ashley eyed her skeptically. “You sure you’re fine? You don’t look fine.”
“I’m positive. Now go,” she chided, taking Ashley’s hand and walking her to the door. Before she opened it, she gave her friend a tight hug, but when it was time to step back, she couldn’t seem to make her arms let go.
Ashley laughed. “Seriously, Liv, you’re choking me here. You’re getting married, you’re not dying.” Her friend suddenly tensed and grabbed her shoulders, forcing Olivia a step back. “Wait! You’re not dying, are you?” The teasing glint in her friend’s eyes made Olivia smile.
“No, I’m not dying.”
“Whew!” Ashley mopped the fake perspiration from her brow and then nudged her with her elbow. “Come on then, smile like you mean it. You’re getting married today!”
With that parting advice, Ashley kissed her on the cheek and rushed out the door.
Olivia stood there a moment with her hand on the knob, forehead resting against the door as she prayed for strength. If saying goodbye to her friend was this hard, she could only imagine how difficult it was going to be when it came time to say goodbye to her parents…and to Haden.
Despite what he believed, he simply couldn’t come to Landaketa with her and Liam. They needed a fresh start together, one without the complications of Haden. Olivia knew she had to let him go—for good this time. And she’d been wracking her brain for weeks trying to figure how exactly she could possibly manage a feat that neither Liam nor Haden could seem to accomplish—severing her bond to Haden.
Until this morning, it was a question that still plagued her. And then suddenly, while she was getting ready this morning, an epiphany hit her. It was so clear, so simple, she wondered how it could have possibly taken her this long to figure it out. For crissake, the solution had been right in front of her all along, only she’d been too blind to see it. She finally knew how to sever her bond to Haden—once and for all. Her only wish was that she’d figured it out sooner, and her regret was the sheer agony it would cause when she eviscerated a part of her heart to do it.
“Not exactly the look of a blushing bride.”
Olivia tensed. Slowly, she turned, steeling herself against the wild thrumming of her heart. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “You said you wouldn’t come.”
His brows drew tight, a classic Haden glower. “How could I not? You’re tearing my fucking heart out, Olivia.” The rawness in his voice lacerated her soul. “Don’t do this. Don’t marry him.”
Oh God, don’t do this to me. Not now…
Olivia’s breath caught in a strangled gasp at the utter misery she saw reflected in Haden’s dark verdant stare. It broke her heart to see that she was breaking his. And she knew at that moment, as much as it was going to hurt them both, she had to do it. She had to let him go. And she also knew, without a doubt, that aside from losing Liam four years ago, this was going to be the most difficult thing she’d ever done.
Exhaling a gut-wrenching sigh, she crossed the room and went to him. Taking his hands in hers, she fought back tears of heartache. “Haden, I’m going to marry L
iam. I know you don’t believe me because of what I’m going through right now, but this is what I want. I know it pains you to hear it, but Liam holds my heart, just like deep down Anya still, and will forever, hold yours. She was lucky to have you, for what painfully brief a time that was. And I am so sorry that I cannot be the one you need—the one to heal you from the past wrongs and betrayals done to you.”
Letting go of his hands, she reached up and unclasped her necklace. As Immanuel’s Stone fell away from her neck, Olivia coiled the stone and chain into her palm. Reaching out, she took Haden’s wrist and turned it, lifting his hand. Her gaze dropped to the heart-shaped scar burned into the center of his palm—a mark that symbolized both the beginning and the end of their relationship—an unwitting journey traveled together that finally brought them full-circle, to friendship and a love forged by blood and steel, pain and sacrifice.
She brushed her thumb over his scar and said, “I may not be able to give you my heart, Haden. But I can give you peace.” Opening her fist above his hand, Olivia let Immanuel’s Stone drop into his palm, and then gently closed his fingers over the necklace. “I’m releasing you from your vow of my guardianship. I invoke my right of free will to declare you free. I am no longer your responsibility for I bind myself, heart and soul, to another. You are free, Haden. Free to claim your vengeance and finally put the memory of your wife to rest.”
His jaw clenched, eyes blazing. He looked as if he were about to protest, but she forged on while she still had the courage to do it.
“I didn’t understand it at first, the unquenchable need for justice that drives you. But I get it now. I see that same passion, that all-consuming fire, in the way Liam looks at me and I realize that a love such as that, a love like what you had with Anya, cannot go unavenged.”
As she spoke, wielding her free will like a double-edged sword, Olivia could feel the ties on their bond severing until the only thing that remained were her wounded and bleeding emotions. Standing on tiptoes, she placed a kiss on his cheek, and then wrapped her arms around a stiff and clearly stunned Haden, one final time. “Good-bye, Haden. I do wish you well, and I pray that one day you’ll find all the happiness you truly deserve.”
She didn’t wait for him to respond before turning and walking out the door, her taffeta train swooshing behind her as she hurried down the hall. In truth, she wasn’t sure she could stand to stay there another moment and witness the shocked devastation on his handsome face that swiftly hardened to rage. What did she expect?—that Haden would actually thank her for severing their bond?—clearly not. But she hadn’t expected him to look so…broken, so…furious.
She needed to find Liam. She had to confess to him what she’d done and tell him she was free. She just prayed he wouldn’t be too angry with her for giving him Immanuel’s Stone. A part of her couldn’t believe she was free that it had actually worked. But in reminiscing this morning, and thinking back over her relationship with Liam, she’d come to the sudden realization that she alone held the power to change her circumstances. Her free will had always been her supernatural escape-clause—it had been with Liam, and so it only made sense that it would be with Haden.
She grabbed the length of her dress and lifted it from her feet as she ran to Liam’s dressing room, praying all the while there was some chance he was still in there. Admittedly, the timing couldn’t be worse, but she had to believe Liam would be more pleased by her decision to release Haden, than pissed that she’d parted with Immanuel’s Stone. She hoped he’d see this as their chance to begin a new life together without extra baggage and unnecessary complications.
She’d done it for Liam more than herself. She knew Haden’s presence ate at him, knew he was aware she harbored unwanted feelings for him. These were all problems she could no longer ignore. It’d just taken her some time to figure out what she was going to do about them.
Her heart was racing by the time she reached Liam’s dressing room door. It was almost time for the wedding to begin and as she knocked on his door, she prayed it wasn’t too late to catch him. “Liam? Are you still in there? I need to talk to you.”
“Don’t you know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding?”
Olivia’s heart stopped at the sound of the familiar deep gravelly voice of her nightmares. Panic flooded her veins as she stood there, frozen, unable to breathe—unable to turn around. It was astounding the number of thoughts that flashed through one’s mind at the moment before they died. And Olivia knew, without a doubt, that she was going to die—and on her wedding day… The day she’d finally get everything she ever wanted was the day she’d lose it all. The irony of it nearly tore a sob from her throat.
“I thought you’d be smarter than that.”
“I thought you were supposed to be dead,” she whispered with the last bit of air remaining in her lungs. Over the rapid pounding of her pulse, hammering in her ears, Olivia heard and became vaguely aware of the distant melody of the Wedding March playing downstairs. This was her cue. Surely Liam would come for her when she didn’t show up. If she could only delay the inevitable a little bit longer...
“Oh, I assure you I’m quite dead. How do you think I’m able to stand here right now without your lovers racing to your rescue? Turned into quite the little whore, haven’t ya? Pity you clung so tight to your V-card when I was dating you. We could’ve had a lot of fun—.”
“Clearly, death hasn’t made you any less of a dick.” Olivia did her best to tamp down her rising panic. She knew him well—well enough to know he fed off the fear of his victims. They’d played this game before—more than once, and as scared as she was, she refused to give him the satisfaction of savoring her terror. Steeling her resolve, Olivia forced herself to turn around and face her fears. “I think your trying to kill me pretty much ruined your chances of ever getting in my pants, Max.”
The demon uttered a snort of wry amusement. “Haden tried to kill you. Seems to be working well enough for him.”
An unpleasant reminder she didn’t need at the moment. “Yeah, well he didn’t fuck my best friend.”
“There is that, I suppose. How is Ashley, by the way? Perhaps when I’m finished with you, I’ll have to pay her a little visit.”
She knew he was baiting her, trying to spark her fear. As tempting as it was to succumb, Olivia refused to give him the satisfaction. Tempering her voice to boredom, she asked, “What do you want, Max?”
His affronted scowl said she should already know the answer to that. “What do I want?” he growled. She tried not to react when he stepped closer. The sharp bite of sulfur stung her nostrils. “What I want is to finish what I started. But then you’ve gone and got yourself knocked up, so it seems you’re now more valuable to the Dark Court alive than dead. Pity, that. Something tells me you’re not going to like your new home as much as this one.”
Footsteps echoed up the stairwell—rapid, and pounding. Liam! A burst of hope exploded inside her and she drew a breath to scream her bloody head off—something she probably should have done before now, instead of standing here bantering with this asshole. But before she could utter a sound, Max’s hand clamped tightly over her mouth as he grabbed her around the waist, yanking her against his now solid form.
“Say goodbye to your precious little life, Olivia,” he snarled beside her ear. “Hope you enjoy Hell.”
The air around them began to stir. It grew dense, enveloping them in a veil of mist. She could feel herself moving even though they hadn’t taken a step. The footsteps grew faster—louder—closer… Through the shadows, she could barely make out Liam’s form as he appeared at the end of the hall and suddenly froze as if he, too, couldn’t believe this was happening.
An inhuman snarl tore from his throat as he raced toward her, but he was too late. It happened in a heartbeat—one moment she was standing outside Liam’s door, and the next, she was engulfed in total bone-chilling darkness. The echo of Liam’s tortured voice rang in her ears as he bellowed he
r name.
“Olivia!”
Chapter Thirty-Four
The relief Haden expected to feel at being set free did not come. Fueled by the pain of rejection and soul-deep emptiness of their loss of connection, that final kick to the balls just pissed him off all the more. After all, wasn’t this what he’d wanted all along?—to be free…free of Olivia’s emotional bondage, free to pursue his vengeance?
Until this moment, he hadn’t been wholly aware of the hold she had over him, nor would he ever have guessed she possessed the power to let him go, or the strength to wield it so effectively. As she stood there speaking the words that would sever their tie, part of him had ached to stop her.
He wasn’t ready to let her go yet, wasn’t ready to say goodbye. But the hardened, rational side that had ruled him for so many centuries knew this was for the best. So he’d stood there like a stone statue, shocked and unable to speak, unable to utter even a parting word as she gave him the treasure he’d once coveted above all else—Immanuel’s Stone. The only problem was, the treasure he now coveted, above all else, was Olivia’s heart.
Haden stopped outside the chamber doors of the Dark Court, battling the urge to waltz up to the dais where Gahn, that pompous bastard, surely sat upon his self-imposed throne and slay him right here and now. But he couldn’t, not until he discovered how far reaching Gahn’s plot to overthrow the Golden City ran.
Immanuel’s Stone was finally his, and he could feel the stone’s power, its supernatural strength, coursing through his veins. It was a heady feeling—holding the power to upend prophesies and destroy Sheol.
As he stood outside the court entrance, hand pressed against the door, unbidden memories, buried heartache, and a tidal wave of rage flooded his mind. Forcing back his contempt, he shuttered away all emotion as he prepared to face his demons—literally. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he clutched the heart-shaped rock and drew from its strength. Unfortunately, now that he had the stone, he’d have to sell his soul to the devil.
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