“Your behavior is only a small part of it. You were so damn determined to succeed at that ritual, and I was determined to help you. Nothing could have kept me from following through any more than you. But you were not a virgin. And at this point, I’d really love to find out why you believe you were, because this impasse is not helping either of us.”
As Llyr spoke, I shoved down my irritation and kept my attention fixed on his aura and the soul he had bared to me. I hadn’t actively attempted to use my turul ability to detect lies; I didn’t really need to. Most of the time, sussing out lies from the truth was second-nature. But this time I truly focused, looking and listening for any whisper of deceit. When I found none, I slowly shook my head, frowning.
“It isn’t possible. I’d remember.”
Llyr sat forward on the chaise, dropping his legs on either side of the big cushion. “I would never lie to you, and I will prove to you I mean that. I promise I won’t try to take you home until I’ve helped you succeed at whatever crazy mission you’ve set your sights on—or ever, if you don’t want to go. I fully intend to keep the promise I made to you that day you sang me your mating song and made me yours.”
“The problem is I don’t trust you, and that song doesn’t mean anything anyway. You should forget you ever heard it.”
My chest burned with the hurt from that day in the Haven. It was so recent the pain was still raw enough to bring tears to my eyes. The ritual had only required me to act as a conduit, to channel power and use it to communicate with the bloodline so I could send them the message. Yet halfway in, I began to understand that it wouldn’t be enough—that my own power would need to be added to the mix.
To access that power, I would need my passive guardian to take a more active role. I would need him to provoke my pleasure in order to draw more magic into my reservoir so I could reach every last soul in need of contact.
Llyr had fulfilled that need. He had fucked me in his primal form to ensure he shared the most power possible. I remembered the adoration in his gaze despite his adamance that what satyrs did was not lovemaking. It wasn’t tender; it was ferocious and intense, and more than I could have imagined my first time could be. Yet it was still closer to lovemaking than what I’d shared with Keagan.
Throat tight, I forced a shrug. “Well, we succeeded. But the bloodline is in danger, and I intend to uphold that pledge we made to protect them, because it’s obvious no one else has any interest in listening to me.”
Llyr swung his leg over the chaise and stood up, closing the distance between us in a couple quick strides. When I took a step back, he halted, remaining an arm’s length from me. He bowed his head, and I got the impression he’d have knelt in front of me if the other two hadn’t been in the room.
“I am here to help,” he murmured. “I think we are all on board. You just need to lead the way. We can’t see what you can see. So tell us.”
Rohan stood, still a little unsteady, but his aura was bright. He smiled at me with so much warmth the pain from my memory dissipated.
“I’m yours, baby. Wherever you need me to be, I’m there.”
Keagan chuffed low and nodded. “Same goes for me. Tell us where to start.”
I glanced around at the three of them, encouraged by their eagerness, despite whatever reservations they may have had about me.
“I need to go back to the hospital. There were four victims there. One might still be there. I need to find out how they’re doing. If my suspicions are correct, when Rohan and Willem got bit, that would have severed the link between the last two victims and these creatures.”
Keagan shoved a hand in his pocket and produced my car key. “You know where to go,” he said, tossing it to me.
I snatched the fob out of the air and headed toward the door, excited to finally be doing something and to have these three men at my back.
After Ozzie’s abrupt departure, I felt like I needed to settle things with him. But that could wait; I wasn’t going to let his tantrum or my misplaced attraction sideline my goals.
Rhythmic pounding filled the air as we exited the house. I paused at the top of the steps leading up to the driveway, disconcerted by the tempo of a song I thought only I knew the beat to.
“Guess we know where the Maestro got to,” Rohan said. “I’ll go see if he wants to come.”
Before I could hold him back, he began to jog toward the two-story building on the south side of the driveway. When he opened the door, the percussive rhythm grew louder, my heart pounding in sync, but the sound ceased before I could try to match the words in my head and my heart to that beat.
We followed Rohan through the door where we found Ozzie, stark naked behind a drum kit, sitting in a beam of sunlight streaming down from a skylight. Rohan was already talking to him, and I caught a curt shake of Ozzie’s head before he glanced at me and frowned.
My body heated, tingling sensations cascading over my chest and between my legs at the sight of his bare, sculpted chest, sweat glistening on his golden skin from the exertion of his playing. His dark blond hair was wet as well, though it couldn’t have been entirely from sweat, the way it was slicked back.
Intrigued, I let my gaze travel lower, but the drums obscured much of him below the waist.
Rohan bounded back to us with a smile at odds with his weakened state. “Not interested, but wants to hear a report,” he said brightly, herding us back out the door. “Not complaining, either. He’s in a pissy mood. We’ll have more fun without him.”
He slung his arm around my waist and aimed me toward the car.
“I am assuming you know how to drive, seeing as this is your car and all,” Rohan said.
“Quick learner,” I replied, opening the driver’s door and sliding in.
It took a full minute to adjust the seat back to a suitable position for my smaller frame. I’d have to remember this next time I let one of them borrow the thing.
Despite assuring them of my skill, they still all carefully fastened their seatbelts, Rohan in the passenger seat beside me and Keagan and Llyr in the back. I suppressed a laugh at the cautious looks they gave each other as I started the car.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, I froze. Ozzie stood to the side of the closed gate, staring back at me. He’d found a pair of tattered blue jeans with holes in the knees, but was still shirtless and gleaming in the sunlight, the image sparking memories of all the dreams I’d had of him over the past year.
He dropped his hand to a small console and pressed a button. The gate began to open, but I couldn’t look away. His expression was troubled now, concern subsuming the anger writ across his face when he’d left the room earlier.
I hazarded a brief glance at his midsection, compelled to look after his earlier reprimand about it being rude to try to see someone’s soul, but all I could see was a dense, glowing web of light, a mesh-like shield of his own magic obscuring his soul from my view.
“We going, or what?” Keagan asked.
I shook my head and dismissed the strange sense that Ozzie had secrets he wished to keep hidden from me. They were none of my business.
20
Ozzie
The ache in my chest only got worse as the car sped off down the street. I stood there like a fucking idiot, staring after her and wondering why the hell I hadn’t gone along.
Deva needed me—that was painfully apparent, but not because I believed she couldn’t do what she needed to do without me. It was something else, something that burned deeper, smoldering in my soul where that piece of me was irrevocably tethered to her.
Seeing her again, touching her soft skin, and smelling her familiar, spicy scent only made it hurt worse when she left.
She would be back, I knew, but that didn’t make it easier to bear.
I smacked the button for the gate and it clattered shut, and I padded back to the garage studio, contemplating another cold shower—a longer one this time. The first one hadn’t done a damn thing to alleviate my need, and sitting a
t my kit was the worst idea when the only beat going through my head was the one that accompanied Deva’s song. Ever since I’d set eyes on her this morning, I hadn’t been able to get that damn rhythm out of my head, even though she’d only sang it to me once.
I wouldn’t be able to keep this up, but I’d damn sure try. Secrets weren’t easy things for a turul. We thrived on truth, but if there was anything living with Sophia North had taught me, it was that it was more than possible to string your loved ones along for centuries.
The truth wouldn’t do Deva any favors in this situation, so I would do whatever I could to keep it hidden for as long as possible.
Llyr was the only uncertainty. He suspected something, but he didn’t have any proof, and I’d be damned if I’d tell him all the details. I just had to hope that if he ever pressed, I’d have the willpower to stand up to him.
A satyr that ancient had power I couldn’t even comprehend. He was fucking deceptive with his casually dismissive attitude, but he couldn’t fool me. He had an agenda, though what it was, I couldn’t tell. I had a feeling he at least respected that the secret was mine to tell . . . for now, anyway.
I would help Deva, eventually. Just not today.
Abandoning the music, I headed back to the house, retrieved my clothes where I’d left them on the patio, and stood there for a second, at a loss. Tension ached between my shoulder blades, but it was a tension flying hadn’t helped, and neither had playing. The cold shower had only made it worse, so I decided I’d try heat for a change.
I dropped my clothes again, pushed the jeans down off my hips, and headed for the hot tub. The heat stung, and I winced before sinking into water that felt hot enough to cleanse any ache. If only that were the case.
My cock hardened the very second Deva crossed my mind again and I groaned, ignoring the need because it simply felt dirty to think of her that way, even though that was pretty much the only way my brain wanted to think of her.
Not Deva, for fuck’s sake. Anyone but her.
I still couldn’t reconcile all the memories I had of that first day of her life and the adorable girl she’d been with the woman I’d been a hair’s breadth from nailing against the closet door today. Even though that girl wasn’t my most recent image of her, it was what I always saw when I thought of her.
She’d grown into a beautiful, bright-eyed young woman within mere hours of her birth, aware of the danger she was in and trusting me to keep her safe from the enemy. It had been her unwavering determination and faith that had shifted that tenderness in me to something deep enough to allow me to do what needed to be done to protect her.
Even though I still wanted to picture her as that innocent girl, it was the beautiful woman with a fierce hold on her convictions who I wanted to make love to now. They could not be the same person.
And yet they were, and my filthy mind couldn’t tear itself away from the vision of her naked right in front of me, trapped in that dress and just begging to be molested. It didn’t help that I was sure she’d have encouraged it too. When I’d broken down and kissed her, it was clear how easily she responded. If I’d slid my fingers between her legs, she’d have been wet for me.
I slipped my hand beneath the bubbling water and gripped my throbbing dick, squeezed punishingly hard, and released before returning my hand to the edge of the tub. I didn’t deserve the relief, not with the lie I carried in my soul.
Despite the lingering ache between my thighs, the heat helped ease some of the other tension in my body, and I let my head fall back against the edge of the tub. There was one thing I knew I needed to do, despite my reluctance. I didn’t want to betray Deva’s trust, so contacting my grandmother for help would be risky, but Sophia North was the only person I knew with the kinds of connections that could help shed light on Deva’s nature and this odd new ability of hers. She might even be able to tell us something about the creatures Deva seemed so intent on understanding.
Eyes closed, I whispered into the wind.
A voice as clear as day spoke from only a few feet away. “Where is she?”
I jerked my head up, eyes popping open. “Fucking hell, Nanyo, you didn’t have to come. And I’m not even going to ask how you got here so fast.”
She stood at the corner of the tub near my left elbow, arms crossed and staring down at me. Her small stature did nothing to diminish her intimidating look. She’d have been beautiful, if not for her severe scowl. Her jet-black hair was pulled back into a loose cloche, and she had deep-set gray eyes so similar to my cousins’ there was no mistaking their connection.
None of us knew who had sired our parents, and so we speculated to no end, concluding that Sophia North must have had at least two different lovers. My mother looked nothing like the Norths’ father, despite being raised as siblings. I was a true West, with blond hair and blue eyes, named for the blessing I received from Zephyrus on the day of my birth, while the three of them were dark-haired and more in line with Sophia’s Slavic origins.
“I keep a stash of satyr blood for emergencies,” Sophia said. “And this qualifies.”
She eyed the steaming, violently bubbling tub. I cupped my hands over my cock and balls, mildly gratified that my erection seemed to have disappeared as instantly as my grandmother had popped into being next to me.
“I can’t see anything through the bubbles, boy. You’re safe. I will join you, though. These old bones need a good soak.”
To my horror, she kicked off her low pumps and slipped out of the boxy dress she’d been wearing. Before I could look away, I got an eyeful of proof that none of the dresses in that closet would have fit Deva. My grandmother had aged well as an immortal, but she definitely didn’t have the curves that Deva had.
Despite how well she’d held up over the centuries, I was pretty damn sure I’d never get a hard-on again. Under the circumstances, that was probably for the best.
“It’s safe to open your eyes,” she said after the sloshing sounds had ceased, leaving only the burbling of the jets.
Cautiously, I lifted my lids. She had her eyes closed and her head tilted back in apparent ecstasy as the water bubbled around her small frame.
“Why did you come? We could’ve communicated by wind. I can handle it.”
“I needed to see her in person. I haven’t seen the child since the day she was born. If she can indeed see souls, I need to see hers.”
Unease prickled all over my skin. “You know she doesn’t have a soul. But more to the point: Since when can you see them? You aren’t a dragon.”
“It isn’t a dragon trait. Deva’s ability to see auras is similar, but this ability to see a person’s soul is not tied to a particular race. If it’s true, you must take care that Fate never finds her, because despite your protests, she does have a soul—at least a piece of one—and I believe you know it.”
My skin erupted in goosebumps despite the heat. She knew, and there was no way I could deny her. It would only give her confirmation.
She opened her eyes and pierced me with a stare that I was sure shot straight to my own soul. And when she dropped her gaze to my midsection, I was almost positive she had literally pierced my soul. I reflexively moved my hand to cover the spot Deva had been looking at earlier. My protective web was still in place.
“Hiding it only proves you have a secret. Shall I start playing a guessing game, or will you confess?”
I cursed. There would be no getting rid of her, and I’d learned over the centuries that it was always better to have my grandmother on my side.
“Promise me you mean what you say—that we need to protect her from Fate. You won’t give her up to that bastard, or to her parents, even though she’d be safer with them. I intend to help her follow through with her intentions to unravel what’s happening with the attacks on the bloodline.”
“If you stay close, it’s only a matter of time before Fate finds you both. Your little shield doesn’t hide the connection from me.” She lifted one hand from the water and waved a
finger in a circle. “I saw the thread when you visited last. I thought I’d seen it before, but it was faint. Now it is much stronger, and I believe it’s because she’s much closer. Tell me, grandson, when did you give Deva a piece of your soul?”
“I think you already know the answer,” I said, unable to vocalize the details. Telling the full story would force me to envision the event again, which would destroy what little control I had over my desire for Deva.
“You are a turul, boy. Fate has always had strict plans for our kind, thanks to that godforsaken curse Ouranos brought upon us. Anyone who subverts that plan risks Fate’s wrath. You had a true mate chosen for you from birth, yet what you have done has broken that link and bound you irrevocably to someone not of Fate’s choosing. Fate will find out, and if you care about Deva, you will be as far away from her as possible when it does.”
I swallowed thickly, knowing deep in my soul that she was right.
My soul . . . Part of it was Deva’s now, yet she could never know.
“Maybe Fate will be merciful,” I offered.
She gave me an anguished look. “It won’t. I know because I am like her.”
“How do you mean?” I said, confused. My grandmother was many things, but she was a turul to her core. Deva was a chimera created in an Ultiori lab.
She let her hands float on top of the bubbling water and stared at her strong, graceful fingers. “When I was your age, I too longed to find my One. Spending a few centuries waiting was too much, but that is all we can do.
“Our kind is cursed to only have one true mate in all existence—one other soul who is meant to merge with our own. Many of us are lucky and find that person early on. Your parents were lucky. So were Iszak, Lukas, and Evie’s parents.
“I was not so lucky. It is not uncommon for us to try so hard we imagine a connection where there isn’t one. I met a man—another turul—after about two centuries of waiting. He was in the same straits, longing for love he had not yet found.
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