Between Imminent Fates (The Immortal Accords #12)

43. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Derikles

“It’s as though his mind is filled with static when we read him,” Derikles sighed forlornly. “So unlike normal thought patterns, where you can almost taste the thoughts.”

“Nina reads similarly,” Celeste said. “Can I see him?”

Though her very presence was soothing in a way he couldn’t account for, her question made protective impulses swell within him. He straightened where he sat.

“Why?”

Celeste, sensing his entire demeanor had changed, retreated to find his eyes. “To see if they’re actually the same. I know that Kaien, Jaeda, or Luna have traded thoughts, but has anyone personally verified they are reading similarly?”

It only took him a moment to answer, “No.”

“I won’t hurt him, Derikles.”

She touched his hand where it’d fallen between them, and the gentleness of the gesture calmed him more than her words ever could.

“I know.”

“Trust me, I have the same feeling of protectiveness over Nina. I would never hurt your sovereign, Derikles. You have my word.”

It wasn’t a matter of him simply trusting her word. Bringing her into Isaiah’s home—his sanctuary—was a level of faith that he didn’t regularly afford someone he didn’t know well.

However, what she’d asked could mean a difference in his recovery. Studying her, Derikles weighed the risk to his sovereign. In the end, trust won out.

Stepping out on a limb, he grasped her hand and teleported directly into Isaiah’s bedroom. Jaeda was still in her home—hopefully sleeping—and Rukia and Isaak were outside playing in the garden. Given Rukia’s Elemental nature and her lack of psychic gifts, she wouldn’t even know they were inside.

Even though he trusted Celeste at her word, he didn’t lose sight of her as she frowned down at the man in the bed. “So much like Nina.”

Ruined , Derikles thought.

Sadness crept over Celeste’s features. She locked eyes with him, seeking approval for her test. At his stoic nod, she moved beside him to approach Isaiah. As she reached out to him, another psychic signature flashed into the room, aggression potent in the air. Derikles knew who it was even before he turned.

“What are you doing?”

The healer’s eyes flamed, clearly a half step away from drawing a weapon. Everything about her posture signified her readiness to defend Isaiah—against both of them if she had to.

Raising his hands in a placating move, Derikles said, “Jaeda, be calm. Celeste is verifying that Isaiah’s mind is reading the same as Nina.”

Halting her approach, the healer took a shuttering breath. Threat disarmed, Celeste gently pressed two fingers into Isaiah’s temple. It was only seconds later that she spoke.

“They read the same,” she stated sadly.

He wasn’t surprised. After sustaining similar traumatic psychic wounds, the aftermath would likely be comparable. If there was one positive, it was that recovery for one might mean the same for the other.

Jaeda cleared her voice. “I apologize, Derikles—sovereign—I can be overly protective.”

On the heels of the statement, the healer raised her chin to lock eyes with him, and then Celeste. Awareness flickered.

“What is it, Jaeda?”

“You two are mates.” Jaeda nearly sputtered as she rushed to explain her gift. “I’m an Arbiter. I can see the bond between you. It’s not yet formed, but it’s there. It’s undeniable.”

Speechless, Derikles could only watch as the healer yanked the surprised beauty into a bear hug and clung tightly. “Welcome to the clan; I’m Jaeda, the senior healer. Please, take good care of this man; he deserves it.”

Overprotective healers.

Rolling his eyes but hiding a grin, Derikles pinned Jaeda with a look. “Thank you for that incredibly overbearing introduction. Celeste, shall we?”

Getting away from Jaeda was nearly impossible. The healer wanted to know everything about Celeste, from where she was born to what color of polish was currently painted on her fingernails. Once they finally managed to escape and he teleported them back to his home, Celeste suddenly became shy. She looked anywhere but him.

“So.”

He couldn’t stifle a chuckle. “So.”

“We’re … mates.”

“I rather think I’m getting the better end of the deal.” Derikles raised his eyebrows for affect, enjoying seeing the woman become flustered at the sentiment.

“Do you now?”

Celeste fisted a hand on her popped hip, the miniskirt flaring in a way that had his blood heating. “Well, the most beautiful woman in the world may potentially be my muse for the rest of eternity.”

And then, there it was: her pretty pink blush.

Derikles took one step forward, then another, slowly closing the distance between them. For a moment, she was a deer in the headlights, those gorgeous violet eyes locked on him like she was ready to bolt.

But she stood still, whether to prove it to herself or to him, he couldn’t know. When his arms came around her, there was no denying it. She crumbled against him. The sweet spun sugar and peach fragrance that clung to her skin kicked up fire beneath his calm facade, and he unashamedly tightened his arms around her.

Instead of moving away at the desperation within him, she held fast. Her fingers grasped at the back of his shirt, urging him closer, and her heartbeat sounded in his ears.

Celeste was everything he’d ever wanted and never had dreamed of receiving. Given the circumstances surrounding their initial meeting, it was a miracle they’d found each other. It was another still that Jaeda had noticed their bond.

The sound of her soft sob stabbed through him. “I’m sorry. If this isn’t what you want, Celeste, you need only say it.”

“No.” Her grip tightened on him; her words muffled against his chest. “No, it is what I want. I’m desperate for you, Derikles, but with what’s happened to Nina—and to Isaiah and Key—our lives are so incredibly different from where they were even two months ago. It’s so much to take in. And Nina—what if my best friend never knows I found you?”

The vulnerability in her eyes as she pulled back gutted him.

Derikles drew her back against his chest, running a hand down the long curtain of her pink hair. “She’ll know. She will. She and Isaiah—if anyone can fight back from where they are, it’s them.”

“They’re going to wake up, Derikles. They have to.”

Relief came pouring from Celeste as she relaxed against him. As he held her, a connection began to open between them. Unlike with every other mated couple he knew who’d described it like a lightning bolt, theirs was a slow trickle of water, gradually filling up the space between them. Soothing, relaxing, and comforting in a time that was anything but.

For this one blissful moment of peace, they held each other, delighting in the unfinalized mating bond that’d tethered their souls together. Tomorrow was another day, another trial, but tonight was theirs.

When morning came, Celeste teleported home before he’d even fully awoken to bid her goodbye. Spending a night holding her in his arms was a bliss he had never imagined for himself.

When he walked into the early morning sun, he found Jaeda pacing along the path he usually took toward Isaiah’s home. The healer had been waiting for him. Her sapphire eyes were full of apology when she saw him.

“Forgive me, Derikles. I should’ve had more tact before blurting out about to your mating bond.”

“No need to apologize, Jaeda. Our lives have been upturned and we’re all hanging by a thread. I can allow you a little leeway, especially considering it’s worked in my favor.”

Jaeda exhaled deeply, seemingly appeased by his forgiveness. When Derikles began walking once more, she continued by his side.

“When I sensed her near Isaiah, I panicked,” she said. “I should’ve had more trust in you.”

“We’re all protective—and we will continue to be, until the end.”

And then the healer spoke a truth that reflected deeply with him. “Without Isaiah, I feel—I don’t know—groundless. Like I’ve lost my confidence and who I was, and now I’m pretending to be someone I’m not. Seeing Isaiah suffer such vicious psychic wounds—it’s humbling even to me.” Jaeda dashed at her eyes. “How quickly we can lose our strength and become dependent on others.

“Not that I’m saying anything against you, Derikles,” she quickly added. “You’ve done a marvelous job stepping in when you had no idea what was coming.”

“I appreciate that, Jaeda.” Derikles pulled her into his side, pressing a reverent kiss against her forehead. “I’ve found myself in a similar frame of mind following Isaiah’s … impromptu vacation.”

“And your mate? How is she dealing with your connection?”

“We are enjoying getting to know one another.” A rueful shake of his head. “But with everything that’s happened, matehood is the last thing on our minds.”

“But should it be? Isaiah would’ve loved to see you happy, even if he’s not here to see it.”

“Key told me I had to be strong afterward; she told me my merit would be tested.” He studied Jaeda, reading her response. “What if this is my test? What if remaining strong for the clan is what she meant?”

“But you’ve already remained strong for us, Derikles. You assumed his position with no forewarning and no instructions. Being strong doesn’t have to mean being alone. Finding your mate will only make you more stable.”

“And Rukia? Is she more stable now, having lost hers?”

Tears swam in Jaeda’s eyes. “No.”

He hated to see her cry, knowing he’d uncovered the sorrow. Fighting with himself for having said the words, he apologized and turned for Isaiah’s home. She strode beside him as silence came spanned between them until the healer spoke again.

“Be that as it may, Derikles— sovereign —Isaiah would never tell you to give up on your mate.”