Chapter 23
ISAAC
“Imight have known you’d be involved,” I snapped at the fae woman when I arrived in the snowy dump she called home.
I sat opposite her, shivering in the biting cold of this place. She wasn’t a pile of bones anymore, laying in her rags with her arms and legs spread out, her breathing slow and raspy.
Snow fell lightly from the night sky, none of the flakes landing on me. A half-moon cast its lunar light over everything, the clouds appearing to circumvent it rather than pass over it.
Weird.
I had to get back. Shake off this darn poison and bring painful sunshine to those shadow fuckers in the restaurant.
Did I hear Ollie get hit? Oh, shit. I shouldn’t be here, wasting time with this hag.
I rolled my shoulders, fury bubbling away inside me.
“Is this you?” I said with plenty of bite. “Are you fed up with this crystal shade thing now and decided to play with the shadow witches instead?”
“I did not cause this,” she replied, her voice hoarse.
“Right, and I’m the Queen of France.”
“Are you?” she asked, totally deadpan.
“It’s sarcasm, bitch.”
She didn’t move. Only her chest rose and fell, her violet eyes blinking now and again. A gentle breeze stirred the wisps of her hair, the snowflakes avoiding her like the clouds did with the moon.
“Why would I be behind this, Sunshine One? I don’t want to lose you.”
A grumble vibrated in my chest. “I hate how powerful you are.”
“You’re too kind,” she answered with a chuckle. “But we must rectify this folly.”
As much as I’d love to tell her to take a hike up an active volcano, I listened to glean any potentially useful information.
“Why would Marcus Kingwood attack when he wants you?” she mused. “His plans are set, his desires in your ears. There is no reason for him to break from his request.”
That was one way of putting it, although her words wrecked my soul.
By Hecate, I loathed this creature.
“There must be rebels within his ranks. Those who wish to dissent from his ideals.” She chuckled. “A lovesick man who called back his lost love. The Star. He wants to hold The Star, and there are those who want to snuff it out. Destroy the brothers, open the world to a new dawn.”
I cracked my knuckles, irritated by every passing second. “Isn’t that your endgame, too? To take us all out?”
She tutted. “Stop making this about me, Isaac Aurora. Focus on the matter in hand.”
Okay, we weren’t doing this. I got to my feet. “You brought me here, so don’t give me the fucking third degree.”
Riley appeared, followed by Drake, the Mind Sharing spell kicking in.
My brother turned on the spot, then saw me. “I guess it worked.”
The hag huffed. “I tried breaking your slippery spell, but only managed to give it a small delay. So do not fear. We are all in this together.” She found that hilarious.
Yawn. Why couldn’t she melt or something?
I dragged my brother into a hug. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“Hello, Moonlight One and Sweetvoice,” the fae woman greeted them.
Oh, fuck off!
Drake put himself in front of us protectively. “What’s going on?”
“Have you heard about The Coral?” I asked.
Riley said, “No, did something happen?”
I couldn’t believe news hadn’t reached the mansion yet. So, I explained the drama, my stomach flipping as I did.
Now Riley yanked me into a hug. “Dammit! Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay!”
“My ear, little brother.” Oof! He’d really yelled that last part.
Back in the real world, a horrible poison oozed through my veins. Took away my control, hurting every inch of my skin. Some shadow spell my body struggled to fight.
I sent some prayers for the darn stuff to exit my body as soon as possible.
“This hag thinks we were attacked by shadow witch rebels,” I added.
“What else could it be?” she threw in.
“I don’t know, maybe you lying out of your arse?” I tossed back.
She sighed, the sound like a death rattle. “Foolish, Isaac. After everything I have done to help you.”
“Like attacking me?” I countered. “That was helpful.”
“Like saving The Moon.”
I flinched under the flash of memory, my eyes pulsing. Shaking it off, I approached her, skin crawling with fear.
Yes, she did frighten me, the mysteries around her disturbing.
I licked my lips, unsure of saying this next part. Riley and Drake came up to flank me.
“What do you suggest?” Drake asked her, as if reading the question lingering on the tip of my tongue.
“I suggest you stay with me and use that wonderful voice every minute of every hour.”
Pass me a sick bucket.
“But there are things to do,” she said. “You are not in the restaurant anymore, Sunshine One.”
I bristled, fists clenched. “Taken? By who?”
“Taken, taken, taken. But Sweetvoice will find you. When he can.”
“Where have I gone?” I asked.
“When I can?” Drake chimed in.
“You must go, Isaac. You must stop these rebels and stay alive for me to taste and destroy later. Do not bow out of the game yet, my celestial wonders. For we are only just beginning.”
“Isaac,” Riley said. “What the—”
I left the orchard, eyes slowly peeling open to face a white ceiling, an anemic orange light spilling over the cracks in the plaster.
“What…” I tried, mouth full of sawdust, realizing I was lying on a bed.
I could smell the faint trace of damp and sandalwood cologne, sensing a presence nearby.
“Hello?” I managed, rubbing at my eyes.
“Hi,” Tony’s voice answered.
A shot of surprise got me sitting up. Pain lanced through my head in retaliation, but I stayed vertical.
Just.
“Tony?” Scratching tore at my throat with every word I spoke, and my skull felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool.
Ugh. This sucked.
My ex sat on a chair beside the bed in the light of a lamp with no shade on a bedside table. I rubbed my eyes again, inspecting him. His white clothes were grubby and covered in blood, his hair fluffier than earlier.
I winced, pain hot in my side, a wave of dizziness passing over me. “Fuck…”
“Take it easy,” he said, getting up. “You’ve been through a lot.” He helped me adjust my position to rest my back on a huge pillow.
“By Hecate,” I breathed, in desperate need of water and healing.
“I’ll get you some water and painkillers,” he said.
“What…what am I doing here?” I took a painful swallow. “I… I…”
“I had to get you out of there,” he responded, placing the back of his hand on my forehead. “Spells were flying everywhere, then you got poisoned. But don’t worry, I gave you something to counter it.”
Another jolt of surprise. “You did?”
“Yeah. Let me get you some water.”
He left the room.
Fuck. This wasn’t right. I shouldn’t be anywhere but the mansion.
I pushed myself up a tad, checking my surroundings. Apart from the bed, the chair, and the table, there was nothing else in this room.
Stripy brown-and-green wallpaper peeled from the walls, and thick black curtains were drawn across the window. At least, they looked black from here, heavy rain beating on the glass behind them.
The air was dusty, the damp smell twinning with the rich aroma of Tony’s cologne. Since when did he wear sandalwood?
I didn’t like it.
Shit. That darn shadow witch. She’d hit Helen first, spurring me into healing action before I could unleash my sunlight.
At the exact moment I’d healed her, the shadow witch attacked again, getting me.
Pow! Right in the side, the poison taking immediate effect.
Invading my veins, making my bones ache, my chest burn, bringing on a fever and a nasty case of bleeding.
I checked my wound. Closed. Red and sore, but closed.
What had Tony given me? Did he just happen to have a special potion lying around to combat the effects of a shadow witch spell?
What was he, some sort of magical human pharmacist?
My clothes were dirty and blood-stained, torn in several places. My shoes were still on, my jacket missing.
Got to get out of here, my inner warning system declared.
The door opened, Tony returning with a bottle of water and some pills.
“What did you give me?” My throat burned, my head pulsating with agony.
“We’ll talk,” he said. “Drink first. Relax.”
A terrifying thought hit me right in the soul. I’d used my powers in public on Helen. Had she now put two and two together and made The Sun?
Fuck.
Who else? Ben? Survivors of the attack?
Tony?
I gulped the water, then took the paracetamol. The cold liquid poured down my throat in a heavenly gush, soothing the burn.
“You’ll be better in no time, babe,” he said.
Don’t call me that, I rejected him mentally.
Yet, well, I kind of liked it. I missed it, craved that sort of attention again.
From him, though?
“What did you give me?” I asked again, eyeing the door.
“You don’t have to worry about anything. You’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He spoke as if his voice was made of hot caramel poured fresh from the pan.
Okay. Time for me to ask the question of all questions. “Do you know about me?”
He bared his teeth in a million-dollar smile that used to charm a litany of adoring fans across America. The gold tooth sparkled in the lamplight.
“That you’re The Sun?” he replied. “I know. I saw. And I’m not surprised.”
Butterflies sputtered in my belly, not quite at a flutter yet. “What…what do you mean?”
He sat on the bed, twisting sideways to face me, his knee bumping my leg. “I mean you’ve always been like the sun to me. My big ball of fire, the one I orbit.”
Eh?
“I haven’t been able to shake you off,” he continued. “Trapped in the endless shadow of what I’d lost. So many shadows of regret haunted me. Make that solar shadows.” He chortled.
I gulped more water, totally discombobulated.
What was he talking about? Since when had I been his sun?
“You left me,” I rebutted gently. “You didn’t want me anymore.”
“I called you stifling,” he said.
I nodded, finishing the water.
He ran a hand through his hair. “What an idiot.”
“Who? Me?” I asked defensively.
He laughed. “Me, babe. Me. I let go of the best thing I ever had. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He dipped his head, releasing a sigh. “I didn’t realize how much I loved you until you were gone.”
Why did it feel so hot in here? “You…you…” He’d never told me he loved me. Called me babe, said he cared about me, but never uttered the L-word.
Tony lifted his head. “I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
Should I be angry? Should I light up this room right now and find a phone? Although someone would be here soon. Drake would be scrying for me as we spoke.
Anger would be easy. A swiftly delivered “fuck you” and a quick burst of my power would make for a great exit. Only, I didn’t want to leave. Not yet.
“I waited our whole relationship for you to say that,” I responded, the pain in my throat finally dulling thanks to the pills.
I’d always wanted a man to declare his love for me.
To want me, to hold me, to see me as something real, not the supermodel, not some prize he’d managed to get into bed.
Boy, I’d experienced my fair share of those horny fuckers over the years.
Rode them like a space hopper only to have them dismiss me like a spoiled piece of meat.
Pricks.
Tony shuffled closer, gaze boring into me, undoing the zipper on my reason. “You’re so beautiful.”
I licked my lips, the butterflies back to flutter properly this time. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
His chuckle made my veins throb.
“But I can’t stay here,” I whispered. “I have to get back to the mansion.”
“Why?”
“You know, due to the small matter of me being outed as The Sun and about to be hit by a shit storm.”
Darn it. What was the state of the news now? Was my face on every channel, trending on social media like never before?
“I understand, but it’s safe here,” he purred.
Stop with the oral yumminess, please. “No. It’s safe at the mansion. There’s magic in place to protect me.”
“Is that so?” He shuffled closer. “I don’t want you to go.”
I licked my lips, quivering with anticipation over what might come next. “No choice. I don’t belong here.”
“But what if you did?” He inched closer. “What if I could keep you safer than any magic? What if we could wipe the slate clean and start again?”
My tongue tied itself in knots.
“I can love you, Isaac,” he purred, moving closer, closer, closer. “I can be anything and everything you need.”
I froze, those butterflies feral. “I… I…”
“I’m sorry to dump this on you, but I mean it. I’ve been craving you, missing you, longing for a second chance. If you’ll have me.” He reached out a hand, cupping the side of my face. “You’re the most incredible man I’ve ever seen. Better than the sun, better than anything in the universe.”
He chiseled away at my foundations, scooped me up in his words and gently cocooned me in promises.
“Tony…” I breathed. “I… I…” Trapped in curiosity, love-starved, influenced by longing and this vulnerable state, I wondered the big what if.
Could we make this work? Could we really find happiness the second time around?
No…
Yes…
He shuffled even closer, bringing his face up to mine. His hot breath tickled my lips, my body weak, my foundations crumbling.
“Tony,” I rasped. “Tony…”
Too close, too tempting.
“Can I kiss you?” he pleaded.
I released a faintly nervous chuckle. “We shouldn’t.”
“Whatever you want. But your lips…fuck. I miss your lips. I miss all of this.”
Closer, closer…
Temptation probed at my heart, at my everything. So intoxicating, confusing, reducing me to a man with base wants, heightening every single need to the maximum.
I had to let him kiss me. I had to feel wanted again.
“You’re not fucking with me?” I asked.
“No. Not yet.” He smiled, the gold tooth sparkling again.
I snorted. “Prick.” I poked him playfully.
“I know.” He leaned closer. “You have no idea how tempting you are, Isaac Davenport.”
Aurora…
I’m Isaac Aurora…
His lips were almost on mine. “I really want to kiss you, babe. Please let me kiss you.”
Any second now, we’d reconnect. I’d taste him, he’d taste me. There was always power in a kiss. This would open floodgates I wasn’t sure I should allow to open. We were done, right? No matter this temptation, this darn weakness, we were done.
There were better men out there to be wanted by. Only, they weren’t exactly lining up at my door.
What if things did work out? What if we became something special? Engaged? Married? Together until the end? Destined to find each other again and make it right and eternal.
The moment I thought those things, I saw Ollie flash in my mind.
Pfft! Ollie wasn’t in any line to win my heart.
“Isaac,” Tony breathed, those foundations of mine about to crumble to dust. “My beautiful sunshine. My one and only guy.”
It was about to happen.
By Hecate, this kiss was about to happen.