by T. M. Cromer
“He’s the only do-gooder who showed an interest in your welfare at the estate sale, girl. Do you think me stupid?” Katherine waved a hand in dismissal. “Agnes confirmed it before she died.”
A sickening dread and a wave of grief washed over Selene. “You were responsible for her death?”
“Of course. But she’d hidden you too well and wouldn’t give you up.”
Not only had her own mother faked her death, but she’d assigned spies to watch Selene when her nefarious plot failed. Agnes had been hired to care for her, and she’d paid the ultimate price. Selene’s stomach churned, but she tried to appear unruffled at the news. Showing weakness wouldn’t serve her with Katherine.
“She felt a mother’s love for a young orphan girl,” a deep male voice said from behind Selene.
She gasped and spun around. She’d been too caught up to register the arrival of anyone else.
Preston stood ten feet away with Alex beside him. The icy disdain written on their faces chilled her to her core. “Careful. I doubt Mother is here alone,” she warned. She mouthed the word “blockers.”
Preston’s eyes flicked to her when she spoke, and he raised his left brow an infinitesimal amount. Enough to acknowledge what she was trying to relay.
“I’ll never understand how you could be so unfeeling toward your own child, Katherine,” he said as he walked forward.
When he reached Selene and placed his hands on her shoulders, her mother’s eyes grew calculating, and a nasty smile curled her lips. “You had Agnes groom her for your own needs, it seems.”
Selene barely held off becoming violently ill at the accusation. She jerked from beneath his touch and surged forward until she stood face-to-face with Katherine. “Only your immoral, twisted brain would come up with something so disgusting. Preston and I didn’t start a relationship until we met in the Otherworld.”
“You don’t owe her an explanation, my love. You and I know the truth.” He drew her away and inserted himself between mother and daughter. “But it appears we found a counterbalance for Castor.”
Selene frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“As if I’m surprised. You were consistently slow, girl.” Katherine crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. “He’s referring to the Netherworld. Alexander will need an enemy to gain entrance.”
Before Selene could grasp the importance of her mother going to the Netherworld, Alastair appeared from nowhere with the binding bracelets and clapped one around her mother’s wrist. She momentarily struggled, but without her magic, she was useless against Alastair’s strength, and he was able to secure her other wrist.
“The blockers were neutralized before we made our presence known, darling,” Alex said to Selene.
“How did you know I’d come here?” she asked.
His expression softened as he gazed down at her. “You once told me you came here to be close to her.”
“But why did you all come?”
Preston held up a hand. “My doing, I’m afraid. I was worried when you got so upset. The instant you teleported, I scried for your location. Seeing your mother threw me at first, but I quickly figured it out and brought reinforcements.”
“But it all happened so fast!” She was having a difficult time understanding how they’d found her, reached the conclusion she might need help, and formulated a plan all in a matter of minutes.
“Your ex-beau can manipulate time, my love.” Preston shared a grin with Alex. “He’s helpful to have around.”
Selene closed her eyes and rubbed the spot between her brows. “It appears you and Alex make a formidable team.”
“It’s all me,” Castor said. “I’m the MVP for any team.”
A laugh bubbled its way out of her. His inappropriate humor was one of the things she missed most about him. “I’m grateful.” She cast her infuriated mother a glance. “If I had to guess, she showed up to finish the job she started when I was a child. What better way to throw a wrench in the plan to stop the Evil?”
“Actually, I intended to bargain. Your life for Victor’s. He was more useful to me.” The hatred on Katherine’s face was hurtful, but not unexpected, considering what Selene had learned in the last little while.
“Then I’m thrilled we were able to thwart your ultimate goal,” Selene said as she turned away.
“You didn’t, though, did you?”
She halted.
Alex was in front of her, concern for her on his face. “Don’t engage, Selene,” he said in a low voice. “It’s exactly what she wants so she can take another dig.”
It didn’t matter that Selene didn’t respond, because her mother wasn’t finished with her cruelty. “If it weren’t for Alexander and the Thornes, my plans would be well on their way. You’re useless, Selene. Plain and simple.”
Burning rage replaced the concern on Alex’s face, and electricity danced across the fingers of his lifted his hands.
“Alex, don’t! She’s not worth it.” Selene gripped his wrists. “She’s not worth it,” she repeated on a softer but no less insistent note.
His icy eyes locked on her as he pulled back his magic. Some of his fury subsided, but not completely. “Don’t ever grab me when I’m amped up again, Selene. You could’ve been electrocuted.”
“You have incredible control. I was never in danger from you.”
Preston approached the two of them and placed a hand on her lower back. “It’ll save me a heart attack if you listen to Castor, my love.”
“And we wouldn’t want to give Preston a heart attack,” Alex said dryly.
“Behave!” she scolded. Unable to face her mother again, she turned to Preston. “Thank you for following. It was foolish on my part to assume there was no danger, considering there are those who don’t want peace to rule the magical community.”
“You had no way of knowing. But my family, on the other hand…” He shrugged. “We’re constantly faced with problems.”
* * *
Preston watched the play of emotions cross Selene’s countenance. She wasn’t a Thorne by blood or marriage, and she didn’t understand that even in times of peace, when all their supposed enemies were vanquished, there would always be a constant threat of danger. Powerful families were subject to ridicule and hatred.
He needed to give her a choice when this was over. Let her decide for herself what risks she wanted to expose herself to, simply by being his mate. “We should go back now.”
She dropped her gaze, but not before he saw her reluctance.
“If you need more alone time, might I suggest the pond on my estate?” He stepped away to give her space. “No one will bother you there, and you can return when you’re ready.”
“Thank you,” she said stiffly. In a blink, she was gone.
“You should follow to make sure she got to your place safely, Thorne,” Alex said. “Al and I can secure Katherine in the Council cells until it’s time.”
“She knows where she’s going. And she has a decision to make.”
“A decision about what?”
“You or me.”
Castor snorted. “You’re an idiot. She’s made her choice, man.”
“It didn’t seem that way to me.”
Alex sobered, and there was a sadness in his eyes. “You weren’t listening. She loves you, Preston.”
“And she loves you, too,” he snapped. “I can see the way her eyes light up every time she looks at you, Castor.”
Alex looked past him to Alastair. “Do you want to explain it while I deliver Katherine to the Council guards?”
“No. My brother is a bit hardheaded. He’ll eventually come around when he’s had time to think things through.”
“What am I missing?” Preston bit out the question.
“Selene resents that Rorie questioned her feelings in the first place, little brother. It didn’t help that you defended Rorie or that you followed it up with your asinine insecurity.” Alastair patiently waited for his words to sink
in, and when they finally did, he smiled. “There you go. I knew you’d eventually figure it out.”
“Shut it, Al,” Preston growled. “It seems I have groveling to do.”
Castor and Alastair shared an amused look but, for once, kept their sarcasm to themselves.
Envisioning the pond on the Thorne estate, and sending a magical feeler to test for Selene’s location, Preston closed his eyes and let his cells warm to teleport to her. He found her sitting on the outcrop of rocks where he and his brother used to fish.
“I wondered how long it would take you to show up,” she said with a snort. “You can’t seem to let me be.”
“No, I can’t. You are the flame to my moth, Selene.”
She gave a delicate shrug of one shoulder. “Obsession isn’t love, Preston.”
“I’m only obsessed with your body. But I’m in love with the soul inhabiting it and the mind controlling it.”
“Are you here to demand I make a choice between you and Alex?”
“No. I’m here to apologize for being a jackass.”
Attention caught, she shifted to look at him. “I’m listening.”
He grinned. “I, Preston Flemming Thorne III, do hereby apologize to you, Selene Anne Barringer for being a total jackass and for not accepting you at your word when you stated you loved me above all others.”
“And?”
“And I will hold you to it for as long as we both shall live, never questioning your commitment to our relationship again.”
“And?”
He thought for a moment, trying to figure out what else she needed. “And should my ex-wife ever say anything snarky or hurtful to you again, I’ll read her the riot act and defend you until my dying breath.”
“And?”
“I’m at a loss as to what else I may have done,” he admitted with a sheepish grin.
“Absolutely nothing, but I wanted to see how far you’d take it.”
He laughed and crossed to where she was. Placing a foot on the tree stump at the base of the boulder, he rested a forearm on his raised knee and stared up at her. “So I’m forgiven?”
“There was never anything for you to be forgiven for, agápi mou.” She rose to her feet and brushed the seat of her black palazzo pants.
From her elevated position above him, with the sun behind her, it was difficult to read her expression. Nerves ate at Preston’s belly, and he wanted to see her clearly. Wanted to see the fierce love he felt for her reflected back.
She held out a hand, and he grasped it, tugging her down and straight into his arms. He held her as a man holds his bride before crossing the threshold to a new home. Symbolic, to his way of thinking.
“I will never take your love for granted, Selene. Maybe the reason I’m insecure is that you once loved Castor with your whole heart. It’s hard to believe those feelings go away. And also, I’ve never had someone who loves me one-hundred percent.” He swallowed past the burning emotion in his throat. “Aurora loved my brother more, and I won’t deny it hurt like hell when she left me. But if you were to ever pick Castor after this, it would crush my very soul.”
“I’m yours.” She grasped his face between her palms and stared into his eyes. The truth of her commitment shone brightly. “Now and forever.”
“Thank Christ!”
She laughed and drew his head down for a kiss. When they pulled apart, she rested her forehead in the crook of his neck. “I suppose we should go back.”
Chapter 30
By the time they returned to the Drake estate, everyone had assembled in the lower garden. All the key players required for the trip to the Netherworld were present, with the exception of their enemy counterparts.
Selene’s stomach was in knots. This was the worst plan she’d ever taken part in, and she feared it would end in heartache for more than one of them involved.
Damian was standing apart from the main group with his daughter and wife. A teary-eyed Sabrina clung to her father’s neck, and he rubbed small circles on her back as he silently watched Vivian.
Spring and Knox shared a kiss and a cuddle. His expression was nothing short of tortured.
GiGi and Ryker were sitting on a nearby bench, and her head rested against his shoulder. He, too, looked torn, as if he were going to refuse to let her go without him.
“You and I are the only couple actually going together,” Selene said to Preston. “It has to be miserable for the others.”
“Yes.” His tone was abrupt and hard—a clear indication he felt as helpless as the rest of them.
She touched his arm. “I won’t let anything happen to your family if I can help it, Preston.”
“You’re my family, too, Selene.” The intense love in his eyes thrilled her. “If anyone is going to take one for the team, it’s me. Don’t do anything to put yourself in danger. Promise me.”
“This whole mission is fraught with danger. I won’t make promises I can’t keep.”
“Stop being logical. It’s driving me crazy,” he growled.
She smiled and patted his chest. “Your children are waiting to say goodbye. I’ll stay here to give you alone time.”
He lowered his head and gave her a sweet, lingering kiss. Punctuating it with a quicker, harder one. “I won’t be long.”
As he strode off toward his daughters, Selene made a silent vow that even if she had to sacrifice herself, she’d see he got home to them.
“Your every thought is showing on your face, darling.”
“Alex, if you don’t stop sneaking up on me, I’m going to do you bodily harm.”
“Promises, promises,” he teased. In the next instant, all pretense of play dropped from him. “Please don’t do anything foolish. Leave that to me.”
“It would break my heart if anything happened to you,” she said for his ears only. “I may want to spend whatever future I have with Preston, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want you to survive and find someone who’ll make you happy.”
“We’re a sad pair. Each willing to sacrifice ourselves for the other.”
She laughed softly. “I guess we are. But that’s what love is all about, Alex.”
“How you were ever able to love anyone after the family you had is beyond me.”
“I had Agnes, thanks to Preston.”
“He’s a great guy, darling. A much better man than I’ll ever be.”
“Don’t sell yourself short.” She met his thoughtful eyes. “Everything you’ve done, however misguided, was for those you cared about.”
A wry smile curled his lips. “True.” They stared at one another for a long minute. She had no doubt he was remembering how free and fun their time together had been, just as she was. They had been younger and much more innocent then. Although looking back brought nostalgia for what once was, they weren’t those people anymore. “I do love you, Selene.”
Stinging tears blurred her vision. “I know.”
“Be happy.”
“That’s the plan if we make it back.”
“I’ll see to it.”
Unable to stop herself, she flung herself into his strong, welcoming arms. “I love you, too, Alexander Castor.”
* * *
Alex rested his cheek against Selene’s silky hair and closed his eyes. He’d meant what he said. Whatever it took to see her safe and make her happy, that’s what he’d do. Across the lawn, he saw Preston’s attention swing their way. Concern and a hint of discomfort settled on his rival’s countenance. Alex smiled without any form of mockery or gloating to let Preston know he understood which way the wind blew.
Preston gave him a nod but continued to watch them, his concern for Selene evident.
“Enough of this maudlin crap, darling. If you don’t control yourself, Thorne will try to take it out of my hide. He’s the jealous sort.”
She gave him one last squeeze and withdrew.
With gentle fingers, he brushed away her tears. “Stay close to either me or Preston on the other side of the veil. Don�
��t allow Victor or Katherine to separate you from the crowd.”
“I get the impression you already know how this works.”
“Damian was correct about the balance being needed to cross over. But the return trip doesn’t require it. When either your mother or brother realizes they can kill or trap you there, they’ll attempt it.”
She lost her color, and her eyes went wide. “Do the others know?”
“Damian does. Maybe Alastair, too. But it’s doubtful anyone else has been informed.”
“Why not?”
“Trust issues.” He cast a side glance and a slight head tilt toward Serqet. “No one’s willing to take the chance she’ll overhear.”
“I would think she already knows.”
“If she doesn’t, why tell her?” He brushed a stray lock of her hair from her cheek. “Just do as I said and stay close to Preston or me. Got it?”
Selene nodded, but the light of determination was in her eyes.
Alex knew that look well, and a sinking sensation began in his stomach. He’d have to watch out for her extra carefully.
Damian approached them. “It’s time. We cannot delay another moment.”
“How are we going to bring the others up from hell, Dethridge?”
“We go back to the point of their deaths and remove them from harm’s way.”
“Without getting ourselves killed in the process,” Alex muttered. “This should be fun.”
“You live for adventure, Castor,” Damian reminded him with a grin. The smile never reached his eyes. The Aether knew exactly how dangerous cheating death could be.
“Quentin was there for both Victor’s and Beecham’s deaths,” Alex said. “He’ll need to grab them. You go after Lin. He’s less likely to give the Aether trouble.”
“That leaves Delphine for you.”
“She won’t know who I am, so it’ll make it easier to grab her.” With the tips of his fingers, Alex drummed a beat against the side of his thigh, impatient to be off. He’d never been one for standing around when there was work to be done. Long waits left him irritable as fuck. “We’re taking them straight to Stonehenge or the Council prison?”