Faded Realms

by C. R. Jane

I run a frustrated hand through my hair, wanting to pull it out in exasperation. Why did I think it was all right for her to stay here by herself in the first place? I should have known she wouldn’t listen to me and stay in the hotel. Not that I can blame her, we all had been a little insane lately worrying about keeping her safe. I pull out my phone and dial the head of the security team that was supposed to be tailing her at all times.

  “Hello?”

  “Where the fuck is she?” I seethe into the phone.

  “In the hotel room, sir,” he answers cautiously.

  “You mean the empty hotel room that I’m currently standing in?”

  There’s silence for a moment before I hear him start to bark frantic orders.

  “How the fuck did you miss her leaving? There’s supposed to be men not only in the hall outside of our room, but also in the lobby. It’s not like she’s easy to miss,” I yell.

  The guys and I hired security as soon as we got back from China. Although we’ve tried not to leave her alone very much with just them, Eva has a habit of wanting to be very independent. The security team was our way of ensuring that she at least had someone who could alert us if something was amiss.

  “No one has seen anything,” he says reluctantly.

  I throw my phone in frustration and walk towards the door to go out and search for her myself. I’m startled when Eva is standing at the entrance. My relief at seeing her fades when I see how troubled she looks.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, pulling her inside and shutting the door. I want to flip all the deadbolts, but I’m sure she wouldn’t take that the right way. She’s been locked up enough in her life.

  I pull her in to my arms. “Where have you been? I’ve been freaking out. I thought you were going to stay in the hotel.”

  “I just wanted to explore some of the city. I’ve never been anywhere before,” she says softly, still looking slightly shell shocked by something.

  “That’s understandable,” I tell her, trying not to let on the fact that I just freaked the fuck out over her being gone for a few minutes.

  She sits down on a chair, running a hand through her hair absentmindedly, her eyes unfocused as if her mind is somewhere else. She suddenly looks up at me, her eyes wide. Not for the first time I wonder at the secrets she keeps in their depths, and when she will finally trust me enough to give me them. When I first met Eva, she seemed so naïve and young, but as the months have passed, she’s changed. When I look in her eyes, I see a heavy, ancient knowledge, and I wonder what else is in store for us.

  “I went to the Louvre,” she says. I nod reassuringly. I’ve known that she’s been obsessed with artwork since Damon took her to the Met, so it’s no surprise that the most famous art museum in the world would be her first stop.

  “I just had a strange experience there,” she says, tugging at her lip worriedly.

  “Did a million-people hit on you?” I ask exasperatedly, thinking of the fact that she leaves a trail of admirers everywhere she goes.

  “No, it wasn’t anything like that,” she says, giving me a small smile for the first time since she got back. She sighs. “I’ve been having dreams,” she says, looking at me beseechingly.

  “For how long?” I ask.

  “Months,” she answers. “Since this summer, before I escaped.”

  My stomach clenches with the reminder of the abuse that she went through before she met me. Not that life since then has been rosy. She doesn’t talk very much about what happened with that crazy preacher and Aiden, but the haunted look she gets when she’s left alone hint at the worst.

  “What are the dreams about?” I ask, taking her hand and stroking it reassuringly.

  “A different world,” she whispers, that far-off look coming back into her eyes. “I think…I think that it could be my past.”

  Dreams about Beckham. Perfect. She looks at me concerned when I pull my hand away and start to pace the room.

  “Mason?” she asks questioningly.

  “I’m just not in the mood to hear about your love story with Beckham,” I say with a sigh.

  “What about my love story with you,” she says quietly. I whirl around to look at her.

  “What?” I ask, longing filling my voice at the idea that it’s not just all in my head that our story includes more than just this life.

  “My dreams aren’t just about Beckham, they’re also about you.”

  “What happens in them?” I ask nervously. I want to know the answer more than almost anything I’ve wanted in my life.

  “It doesn’t end happy,” she warns, and I walk towards her, pulling her into me so that I can wrap her in my arms. I savor how she feels.

  “I want to hear it all,” I tell her firmly, ecstatic in the knowledge that I have a past with her too. It confirms the suspicion that I’ve had that she could be my fated mate.

  “You were Aiden’s prisoner,” she tells me, her voice shaking as she burrows her head in my shoulder. “He had made some sort of deal with me that he would reverse a curse he had put Fairie in exchange for me marrying him.”

  I grip her arms a little too tight at the reminder that Aiden was actually her husband at some point.

  “You were his slave. The incubus he brought out as entertainment whenever he wanted a party to be taken to the next level,” she says, her voice heavy with innuendo.

  I try to reach back into my past to see if I have any memories of something like that, but there’s nothing there. I probably should be grateful for that since a sexual slave is the worst thing you could wish for an incubus, but a large part of me wishes I could remember. Just so I could remember a past with Eva.

  “How did we meet?” I ask.

  “I saved you by taking advantage of the sexual spell you had cast on everyone in the room except for me, and convinced Aiden to let you go.”

  “And then I fell in love with my savior?” I ask wryly.

  She laughs, but it comes across more bitter sounding than amused.

  “No, not quite. I think you actually hated me. You felt a pull towards me that made you feel like you had traded one master for another.”

  “But then we fell in love?” I ask, eager to get to the good part.

  “Yes,” she says softly, a dreamy look crossing her face. “Then we fell in love.”

  “Any sex scenes in this story?” I ask, running my nose down her neck, eliciting delicious shivers from her as I do so.

  “Some, I think. You are an incubus after all.” She sighs as if she’s preparing herself for the next part. “He killed you. You were trying to save me after a fight and he killed you without a thought. I held you in my arms and I had to watch you die,” she hiccups, trying to suppress a sob. “Don’t ever die,” she says in a choked voice that’s heavy with pain and love.

  I stroke her hair softly, trying to reassure her. My thoughts go to the prison in China and the torture he rained down on me. I didn’t stand a chance against him. If I can’t protect myself, how am I going to protect her?

  “I’m afraid,” she whispers, pulling me closer to her and crashing her lips against mine. “I’ll do whatever I have to in order to protect you,” she says fiercely as she comes up for air. “Anything I have to.” The look in her eyes promises she would destroy whole worlds to protect us, and I wonder if that’s what she did in the past that none of us can remember.

  3

  Eva

  I’m anxious as I wait right off stage for the show to start. Last time I was at one of Mason’s concerts I lit up like the Fourth of July, and this time Damon isn’t here to calm me down. As immune as I am to Mason’s incubus powers, his voice still does something powerful to me. It’s my favorite sound in the world.

  There’s a tap on my shoulder and I turn around, startled. It’s one of the backstage security people. His eyes widen when he sees my face, and I inwardly roll my own eyes at the immediate lust that rises in his gaze as he looks me over.

  “Do you need something?” I ask politely, sinc
e he seems to have temporarily lost his ability to speak.

  “Yeee…yes,” he stutters, wringing his hands together nervously. “There’s someone here to see you. She says it’s urgent.”

  Frowning, I glance at my phone, wondering if Lexi is somehow here. She’s the only real “she” that I know. There are no texts on my phone though. I glance to see what Mason is doing, but he’s deep in conversation with the rest of the band, I’m sure going over tonight’s show for the thousandth time to make sure it’s perfect. One thing I’ve learned about Mason is that he’s a perfectionist when it comes to his music.

  “Can you please tell Mason where I’ve gone when he gets done with his meeting?” I ask the security guard. He nods and directs me to where the mysterious “she” is waiting for me.

  I walk past the line of dressing rooms to one of the many tunnels backstage that leads to the outside. I stop in my tracks when I see that the person waiting for me is none other than Courtney Rayne, Mason’s ex-girlfriend.

  “What can I do for you, Courtney?” I ask exasperatedly at the woman sizing me up.

  “I think it’s time we talked,” she says sweetly. “I’ve been really hesitant to say anything, but it just doesn’t seem fair to you...” she begins.

  I cut her off. “Please don’t even try to give me a lie,” I tell her. “There’s no world where I would believe that Mason was cheating on me with you.”

  Her face reddens. Although I wasn’t intending to insult her and was talking more about Mason’s integrity than her unworthiness to be with him, my statement obviously came out wrong.

  “You little bitch,” she hisses at me. “You think that the rumors aren’t going around that you’re with Damon and Beckham too? Does he know that you’re screwing around with his best friends?”

  My cheeks redden involuntarily because although I know my relationship with the three of them is so much more complex than that, she has stumbled upon my worst fear…that they will think of it like that. She misinterprets my blush as an admission of guilt.

  “Oh, did I just announce something you’re trying to keep hidden?” she says slyly, a gleam in her eye that tells me she is thinking about all the trouble she can create with that information. “Mason doesn’t know about your little tete a tete with his friends, does he? Tell you what, leave now and I won’t tell him,” she says triumphantly, taking a step towards me as if she’s won. I roll my eyes at her attempt to blackmail me.

  “Courtney, you don’t know what you’re talking about,“ I say, trying to stay patient. “But you need to leave now. I know that Mason doesn’t want you here.”

  “He will when he hears what I have to say,” she says excitedly, brushing past me to go back towards the stage. “I did warn you.”

  “Mason,” she calls, as she gets closer to the stage. I hurry after her, anger building inside of me that she’s causing this much trouble right before Mason’s about to perform. “Mason!” she yells again, marching to where Mason is still talking to the rest of his band. I see his shoulders stiffen as he slowly turns around, a pained look on his face.

  “How are you here? How many of my staff did you have to blow to get through security?” he asks harshly.

  She falters at his tone but then squares her shoulders, a determined look in her face.

  “I have to talk to you,” she says. “It’s important.”

  “Courtney, why do I have to keep telling you to stay the hell away from me? Desperation isn’t attractive.”

  “You’re going to want to hear what I have to say,” she says.

  I sigh, and she looks at me with wicked anticipation.

  “You probably have a minute before security comes to drag your ass away, so I would suggest you show yourself off and save yourself the embarrassment,” Mason says, beginning to turn back around to finish his conversation with the band.

  “Mason, she’s cheating on you,” Courtney blurts out, gesturing towards me.

  The whole backstage quiets down at her pronouncement and I feel what seems like a million eyes turn towards me.

  Mason is still for a moment, and I feel a rush of unease. What am I doing? How did I get myself in this situation where I’m asking this beautiful, perfect man, a man I am head over heels in love with, to be alright with me also dating his two best friends? Is this where he kicks me to the curb?

  “Courtney, I suggest you keep your fucking mouth shut about things you know nothing about,” Mason answers quietly, but with so much venom in his tone that I hear the crowd of people watching gasp.

  “But she admitted it! She admitted she was fucking all of them!” Courtney cries, her face turning a mottled shade of purple.

  Just then I see four security guards rushing our way. Courtney isn’t paying attention since she’s launched herself at Mason, grabbing onto his clothes frantically as he tries to extricate himself from her without harming her.

  I stare in horror, realizing that this is an instance where Mason’s incubus powers have gone out of control. Courtney obviously became addicted to Mason’s power and it’s now ruining her life. Despite her behavior, a rush of pity passes over me. Even without Mason’s power having an effect on me, I too would probably follow him around like a love-sick fool if he ever decided he was done with me.

  The security guards start to pull Courtney away, much to her surprise. Her angry yells turn to out of control sobs. Everyone watches her as she is dragged away, screaming Mason’s name. As her cries fade, the eyes of the crew turn back towards Mason and I. Mason strides away barking orders, still having not looked at me since Courtney’s statement about me sleeping with his friends.

  I want to talk to him, ask him if we are okay, but I’m scared of what his response will be. The crew scurries back to work as the first chords of the opening band start to play from on stage. I stand there alone, no one even willing to make eye contact with me after Courtney’s pronouncement.

  The opening band ends their set and walks off stage. The crowd starts to chant Mason’s name as they wait for The Riot to appear. I sense Mason’s energy as he comes out of his dressing room.

  As he passes where I’ve been frozen since Courtney’s scene, I swear his lips brush against my ear. I know he whispers, “Only you.” His breath is rough, it is, I feel it, but then he’s past me. He doesn’t look back and I fear that I’ve imagined it all. The rest of the band walks by me to follow Mason on stage, Layne the only one to throw me a sympathetic smile.

  Mason’s performance is indescribable. I’ve seen a few of his performances now and all of them have been mind-blowing, but tonight, tonight is something special. All of Mason’s emotion comes pouring out, all the angst, anger, and fear of the last few months is threaded throughout every word in every song. I soar to new heights and sink to unfathomable depths with every word that he sings. But the emotion that comes out the strongest, the one that has tears burning in my eyes, is love.

  How can he still love me after all the trouble I have caused him? It was bad enough that he had the misfortune to fall in love with someone who was also in love with his best friends, but then he was tortured by my apparent ex-husband in a decrepit prison that contained the stuff of nightmares. When would we get to the point where it was all too much?

  I push my fears out of my mind and try to concentrate on the beauty and mastery of Mason’s performance. The crowd is literally out of its mind tonight. When I was with Mason, Damon, and Beckham, and it was just us, it was easy to forget that they were celebrities. But I was always reminded just how out of my league they were when I attended events like this. The world literally was obsessed with them. I thought of Aiden’s obsessive love and a wave of unease passes over me thinking about what kind of problems obsession like that could bring. I glance around the room, watching for any crazy fans who could present a danger to my love. When no one appears out of place, I relax and turn my attention back to the stage.

  The last chords of the song fade into the night and I slip my ear plugs back into my ea
rs, preparing myself for the raucous cheering of the crowd. Mason steps towards the mic, cradling it like he would a lover. The rest of the stage darkens as a solitary spotlight shines down on Mason. One of the crew brings out a stool and Mason’s guitar onto the stage.

  He clears his throat, appearing to be nervous on stage for the first time that I’ve ever seen.

  “There’s a new woman in my life,” he begins, his voice gruffer than normal. The crowd goes absolutely nuts at his pronouncement. He pauses for a moment, waiting for them to calm down enough for him to continue. “She’s the one you wait your entire life for and don’t know how you got lucky enough to find. I will never deserve her. I love her with every piece of my soul.”

  The crowd roars again and he smiles at them fondly, as if they were all old friends. “I’m not very good at describing my emotions in everyday life, but I am pretty damn good at putting them into my songs. So tonight, I’ve got a new one to play for you all tonight. Eva, this one’s for you.”

  My throat is already clogged with emotion, tears threatening in my eyes at his pronouncement. He just declared to 80,000 people that he was in love with me. I’m sure that it will be on all of the news channels by morning. A tingling of apprehension arises within me at what Beckham and Damon will think, but like every difficult problem I have in my life, I push it away.

  He strums the first chord, and I can feel the magic in the air sharpen in anticipation. I’m gone as soon as he sings the first word. The song is beyond anything I’ve ever heard. It weaves around me, soaring me high into the sky before it crashes me to the ground, shattering me into a million pieces. It speaks of a longing that I feel desperately, a longing to find yourself etched in the heart of your lover. The longing to keep your lover with you no matter how far away you go.

  As I watch Mason, my eyes seem to play tricks on me. It looks like the tattoos that cover every inch of his arms are swirling. They twist around his arms, changing their configurations until they resemble nothing that they did before. There appears to be runes now tattooed where there once was a menagerie of shapes and images. I rub my eyes, trying to clear my vision and the tattoos return to their original images.