I looked at Victor, and he completely captivated me. He was the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on. I already knew that before, but the feeling was now far more intense. It was as if I’d been shot with Cupid’s arrow. I already loved the man deeply, but the bond from our ruby rings increased that love tenfold. We shared a common path and purpose. We accepted each other for who and what we were, without question or judgment. And now, we had a created a little life, our Alexander, to share our love with.
Victor gazed deeply into my eyes. “I love you,” he said, though his lips never moved; somehow, his voice simply rolled the words across my mind.
I love you too, I said through my mind. I could feel his love for me and for our baby. He loved us with all his heart. I could feel it, and tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about it. True love was the stuff of fairytales, and soulmates were hard to find, but in Victor, I had found mine. We shared a strong emotional attachment, and there was a force lingering between us—a unique purpose. We connected on so many levels that it astounded me. I felt as if I’d come home from a long journey, and I sensed a familiar, long-lost energy buzzing between us, ignited by the power of the rings. We shared an incredibly intense attraction, like none other. It was so beautiful—a warm casserole of emotions so profound, powerful, and intense that no words could encompass it. We felt one another’s illnesses, emotions, or struggles, even when we were apart. When we were close, together, and in balance, we both felt stronger and more capable than ever before. We were best friends and lovers, and I knew he was my twin flame. The deep love we had for each other was undeniable, and even when our external circumstances forced us to endure hardship, it was that love that gave us the power to stick it out.
We were clearly held together by love, the strongest of glues, and I could feel that love to the very core of my being. It was more than human love, more like a paranormal, supernatural love that went deeper than any emotion I’d ever felt before. Victor made me feel whole, healed, and intact, like no pieces were missing from the puzzle. We were deeply, eternally linked, ready to take on any feat in life, including conquering Ethano, so long as we had each other. To be with my soulmate was one of the most precious treasures of life. I’d found my heart’s other half, and I surged with joy and happiness. Our love was so deep, so strong and complex, that I doubted I had ever truly loved anyone prior. I’d experienced so many bad relationships in the past, including Frank, battling through all those emotional highs and lows to find the man of my dreams. Victor was my knight in shining armor, the person I was bound by destiny to share my life with.
I couldn’t explain the feeling, but there was some deep knowing inside, an assurance that we were a team, both on the same path, heading for the same destination, goals, and dreams. We were working together to build the future we both wanted, for us and our beautiful son.
“Can you feel it?” he asked, smiling. “Our soulmate connection is back.”
“Yes! I feel it,” I said, jumping into his arms. “We’ve got our bond back,” I said as he swung me around. “It’s so intense. Words can’t describe what I’m feeling.”
“We are one again,” he said, but then his smile faded into a serious expression. “However, it also means that if I die, you die too.”
“That’s not gonna happen. There are only a few ways to kill us.”
“We are not invincible, Sarah,” he retorted. “They can come after us again, anytime, with more guardian poison.”
“We won’t let that happen. We’ll calculate every move we make, like a game of chess. We’ll never give them the chance to get close to us again.”
“Pity for them,” he said, cupping my face, “for being close to you is the most amazing feeling in the world.”
I grinned. “Same goes for you.”
“I see you are happy with the gift I bestowed on you,” White Coyote said.
“We are eternally grateful to you,” Victor said.
I nodded. “Yes, thank you. We thought we had lost our bond forever.”
The old one smiled and motioned for us to follow him. “Come. We must retrieve your little one and then head home.”
We followed him back to the camp, where we were joyfully reunited with our baby. I held Alexander close, and Victor kissed his cheek.
“Your daddy is alive,” I said, unable to keep my happy tears from falling. It was glorious to be able to tell my baby the good news, even if he couldn’t understand a word I said; he just shut his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Victor held our chubby, smooth-skinned angel in his arms and kissed his forehead. “I can’t believe I have this second chance with you and your beautiful mother. I promise to make the most of every hour, every minute, every second. I love both of you more than life itself.” His voice shook and I could see him fighting back the tears. “We are a perfect family,” he said.
I smiled, wiping my tears away. “Absolutely. Maybe we’ll have our happy-ever-after after all.”
“It has already begun, my Queen.”
We thanked White Coyote and his warriors, and then the chief then asked if I had any last questions.
“I do,” I said.
He cocked his head. “Yes?”
“I need to know if the man who sent me to this island is honorable and trustworthy.”
“Jackson?”
“But how did you...” I began to ask, then stopped myself. I couldn’t believe he knew, but after all I’d seen that day, I knew better than to question him. “Yes, Jackson.”
He rubbed his chin in thought. “He is a very honorable man, and he fights for what is right and just. You can trust him wholeheartedly.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I was dying to know. I wasn’t sure where his loyalties lie.”
“Know that his motives are true and genuine.”
“Jackson wants me to help get him something.”
“Ah, yes, an artifact that will help his people against the dominating, blue-ringed immortal government.”
Just as I started to ask another question, we were transported to another place in a glorious burst of light. It was something like Star Trek, only I hadn’t even had time to ask Scotty to beam us up!
Chapter 5
I looked around and was shocked to find myself standing in Jackson’s boat, the very boat that had originally dropped us off. The immortal who had helped to rescue me was gone, so I assumed White Coyote had sent him back to the boat he’d come from.
The captain’s eyes widened. “We’ve been waiting for you. When did you board? And why aren’t you wet from your swim? Furthermore, how did you swim with a newborn baby...wait! You had the baby!?”
“White Coyote sent us,” Victor said, “and this is Alexander.”
They all greeted us and the new addition we’d brought along. The captain insisted I go downstairs and lie down, so we followed his men and snuggled up so I could nurse Alexander, feeling safe and warm for the first time in hours.
Victor placed an arm around me and smiled. “We did it,” he said victoriously.
I grinned. “Mission accomplished.”
I wrapped Alexander up in a blanket and surrounded him by pillows so he wouldn’t fall off the bed for any reason. I got up and walked to the sink to get a drink. The captain brought down some sandwiches, chips, and cans of soda. He also left us a change of clothes. It was too hot for the long-sleeved shirt and jeans they brought for Victor, but it was his only option, and he didn’t complain; he knew walking around in Indian gear would get us noticed when we arrived on land, and it was important we fit in. Even worse than the long sleeves, the clothes didn’t smell too good; they’d obviously been stored someplace that was moldy and damp.
“I’m sorry,” the captain said. “It was the best we could drum up. I’ll buy you some new things once you are safely checked in somewhere.”
The crew left us alone, and we appreciated the much-needed alone time with our baby. We were so hungry that the simple meal tasted like a steak dinne
r. I told Victor what I had learned about the Box of Shadain. We discussed it and had many questions for Jackson. Knowing that there was a possibility that Victor or I could lose our powers made us very hesitant to open up that ancient box. We desperately wanted to help this world, but without our powers we’d never be able to take Ethano on. A compromise might work. Maybe Victor should go back to Tastia where his powers would be safe and I could stay here and help my people. I’d lose my powers but it’d be worth it. It would be nice to be normal again. We decided not to make any hasty decisions just yet.
After we ate, I stood. When memories started to invade my mind, I quickly sat back down.
“Sarah, are you okay?” Victor asked.
I glanced down at my glowing ring, shining brilliantly, as if it had a mind of its own. “The ring,” I said. “It’s, it’s...”
“It’s okay,” he said. “Don’t fight it. Just close your eyes and let the ring take you where it wants to lead you.”
So much information flooded in that I could hardly ponder it. I saw Victor’s father, taking his wrath out on his young son, and my heart went out to my poor husband. He was just a boy as his father slapped him across the room. The abuse he must’ve suffered at the hands of that tyrant made my stomach clench.
Another scene began to appear. I gasped as his father stabbed his mother before his very eyes. It was a calculated murder, as the knife was laced with guardian poison.
“Is this suicide?” Victor asked his dad, “If Mother dies, you die too.”
“Ethano has been dabbling in black magic. He knows how to disable two bonded souls. I am not bonded to your mother any longer, so do not worry. I will not die.”
“Why would you hurt Mother? Why?”
“Because it is her destiny to die,” he said.
Victor pulled out his sword and pierced his dad’s chest, but his dad was far too powerful and threw Victor into the wall, then bolted out of the room. The pain of losing his mother in such a violent way tore through me. Victor ran toward his dying mother and held her in his arms, weeping bitterly.
“Victor...” she said.
“Mother...” he said, her voice wavering.
She gurgled as blood dripped from her mouth. “You can’t be like him. You are meant for so much more, my son.”
A tear rolled down his face. “I won’t be like him.”
“But you already are. Your heart is wicked, full of hate and rage.”
“Then I’ll change.”
She touched his face. “Do you know how proud that would make me?”
“You can’t leave me,” he said. “Please don’t go.”
“You have Della, and the prophecy says a pure woman will put you back on the right path. I’m confident she’ll help you to go in the right direction.”
He nodded.
She looked at him hard. “Victor, there is more you must know.”
“What, Mother?”
“Your father... He gave another woman a son.”
He cocked a brow. “What!?”
“Your father kept his identity a secret from everyone to prevent the shame an illegitimate child would bring on the royal family. Your brother grew up right alongside you. He knows the truth, but he was sworn to never breathe a word of it. His mother comes from another world, beyond the forest of the guardians. She fled to save her life when her clan tried to murder her. Your father was quite taken by her, and they have been inseparable. Now, she will have everything that belonged to me. It is why he killed me, so she can take my place.”
“I’ll make him pay for this,” Victor sobbed.
“And so the violence continues.”
“It’s the only way to avenge you.”
“Just let it go.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
Victor swallowed hard.
“I love you, son,” she said.
“I love you, Mother, more than anything. Please don’t go!”
“Take care of sweet Della.”
“I will, but Mother, who is he? I need to know who my half-brother is.”
“It is...Ethano,” she whispered.
His eyes widened in shock. “No! It can’t be. Not Ethano. Please tell me it’s anybody but him.”
A chill shot down my spine. I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. The evil man, our enemy, was a spawn of Victor’s own tyrant father. The fiend was my son’s uncle, related to him by blood. It suddenly made sense why Ethano wanted the baby: It would be the ultimate revenge against Victor if Ethano stole and raised his son. Not to mention, it’d be easy to love and raise your own nephew.
“He was born second, so that makes him your little brother. You and your other brothers need to take care of him. He’s your blood, and family is forever, Victor.” With that, the woman took her last breath.
“No!” Victor shouted, his face twisting in rage.
I watched the funeral, and I had never seen Victor so lost and shaken up. He openly wept for his mother. In public, his father claimed that an intruder had killed her, and the country wept for its beloved queen. A war was immediately launched on his so-called enemy as a result. It was a brilliant strategy to start a war, and he garnered much pity and support from other countries. Victor’s lying father benefited in more ways than one, too, as his mistress took Victor’s mother’s place. The soldiers fought bravely to avenge their murdered queen, and with so much help from so many countries, Victor’s father won the country he’d wanted for centuries.
“You killed her for your own selfish gain!” Victor shouted at his father. “Just so you could win a war and be with your mistress.”
“Tread lightly, Victor. Even if my blood does run through your veins, I have no problem spilling it if I have to.”
“Just like you had no problem killing your wife?” he retorted.
“I have enough guardian poison to send your sorry soul to Hell, boy! Don’t force me to use it.”
“If you do, I will make a deal with the devil himself to come back and find you and drag you down there with me.”
Victor’s father shook his head. “My eldest son is nothing more than a disappointment.”
“I’m going to tell all my brothers what you did, and they will stand and unite with me when they hear the truth about how their mother died.”
“You will say nothing, Victor. If you utter one word, I will kill everyone you hold dear, and Della will be the very first to go.”
Victor pulled his sword and attacked. Swords clanged as father and son fought a desperate battle.
Suddenly, the scene before me faded to a different setting, with Della and Victor arguing in the courtyard.
“I’m leaving, Victor,” she said. “There was a time when I thought our love would withstand the test of time. I was sure nothing could come between us and that we could conquer the world, but I am sad to say that things have drastically changed. I can’t stand by and live with a monster who has no regard for anybody but himself. You said you never want to be like your father, yet that is exactly what you have become—a tyrant, full of hate. What would your dear mother say?”
“She said a good woman would put me on the right path,” he said.
Tears streamed down Della’s face. “And have I not tried? I’ve given you everything I have to offer. I love you so much, but I will not marry a tyrant. I am sickened by your actions, and I will not be a part of it.”
“A man does not rise to my position by being weak, Della.”
“You’re power hungry, addicted to power, and your dreams of conquest will never end until you rule this entire world.”
“I am a king, a military commander, and I will stop at nothing until I get what I want.”
“Even if that means losing me?”
He gripped her hands. “Please don’t go.”
“I hope you find everything you are looking for, dear friend and lover.”
“If you leave, the prophecy is a lie!” he said.
“No
. I am simply not the woman to fulfill it. I don’t know where or who she is, but she will show up in time. Maybe she will be able to do what I have failed to accomplish.”
He pulled her close and said, his voice authoritative, “You are not leaving.”
“I am.”
“You are supposed to be my queen.”
“I will never marry you, Victor. I would never slip on the ruby ring and allow myself to be emotionally connected to a feared tyrant, a diabolical, bloodthirsty monster.”
“It’s war. There are bound to be some...fatalities.”
“Murders, you mean. Victor, you slaughter lands mindlessly, and you don’t think twice about the path of destruction you leave in your wake.”
“I am a conqueror and a great leader.”
“Yes, and that’s why King Taggert loves you. You have won many battles, conquered lots of territory, but you won’t conquer me.”
“We were meant to be. I love you, and I will not lose you.”
“You cannot stop me.”
“You will not leave me. I won’t hear any more of this foolish talk.”
“Move out of my way!”
“I will not! I will stop this nonsense any way possible.”
Della pushed him away. “Really? Do you plan to follow in your father’s cruel footsteps once again and kill me? Stab me the way he stabbed your mother? Because that is the only way you’ll stop me.”
His lips wavered, and he slowly backed away. Obviously, by the look on his face, her words had cut him quite deeply.
I suddenly returned to the present. Stunned, I looked at Victor. “Ethano. I...know,” I said, baffled.
Chapter 6
“Now I know why you didn’t kill Ethano when he first chased me on the cliffs, back when I was running from you,” I said. “You couldn’t kill your half-brother.”
He let out a long sigh. “No, I couldn’t.”
Tears rimmed my eyes. “I saw your mother’s death,” I said softly.
He stared at me hard. “I was going to tell you, but it was far too painful.”
“I’m so sorry, Victor,” I said.
“She was a beautiful woman. She didn’t deserve the fate she received, nor did she deserve my father’s unfaithfulness.”
Eternal Flame - Book 6 Page 4