Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MERI
R ivan isn’t working out, he’s punishing himself. At least, that’s what it looks like. Sweat pours from him, as his muscles strain to lift yet another set of weights. Not once has he taken a break in the two hours I’ve been here. Of course, he could be using exercise as an excuse to avoid me, but the gritty determination on his face makes me think he’s lost to the destructive thoughts in his head.
Turning away, I slip out and head down to the lobby to meet Cormal and Madoc. Today, we’re going to Hiemal. Bitterly cold and practically deserted, it was a haven for me one winter. Through the bond, Leandra often kept me on a tight leash, but with nothing but a frozen tundra outside our door, I could explore to my heart’s content.
Madoc’s eyeing the parka in his hand with a perplexed look on his face. “Why do I need this? I can regulate my body temperature with ease.” He said the same thing about the ski mask and goggles I gave him earlier, but I insisted.
Hiemal is a strange place. Part of The Underworld, it lies in a valley between two mountains, but it existed long before anything else around it was created. A bubble in a time warp, it operates by its own unique set of rules. Time moves incrementally there. A few seconds could mean a day in the outside world. Magic is limited to the most basic of elements like fire, water, and wind. Creatures roam freely across the land. In a way, it’s almost like the Wilds or Avalon, with its unpredictability and fickleness.
I roll my eyes. “Take it. If you don’t need it, then you don’t have to wear it.” Cormal holds my own coat as I slip it on and completely button it, then put on thick gloves.
Cormal chuckles. “You’ll need it. Are we ready?”
Excited, I take a deep breath and smile. “Let’s go.”
Ten seconds later, we’re exiting the portal and struggling to find our breaths. I motion for Madoc to pull down his mask and cover his eyes. Steel-grey eyes are wide with uncertainty as he does what I tell him. He immediately pulls on the parka and buttons it up, then raises the hood like Cormal and me.
With a huge scowl on his face, he raises his hands and creates a small fireball, but I reach out and smother it.
“We don’t want to attract the local wildlife,” I tell him. I slip a hand in his coat pocket and pull out the gloves I stashed in there. “Let me help you.”
Motioning for him to hold out his hand with his fingers spread, I quickly get the first on, then glance up at him. My mouth twitches at the bundled warrior in front of me, lips compressed and eyes glaring at the landscape around us. It only takes a couple seconds to get the other one on. He flexes his hands and takes a deep breath.
Cormal comes back from scouting and raises an eyebrow. “Are we ready?”
In answer, I pick up my foot and carefully place it flat on the ground, then do the same with the other. Ice requires a sort of march to get across it without falling on your ass. Cormal easily picks up the pattern. I hear a curse and crash behind him and when I turn around, Madoc’s sprawled out on the ground. Cormal reaches down and helps him up, then shows him how to walk.
Thankfully, Cormal placed the portal close to the shack where we lived, so we don’t have far to walk. My eyes sweep the area around us, easily picking up the changes from the last time I was here. A couple of trees are down. Some creature marked the trees with its claws. The nearby stream is slightly smaller, but it still flows despite the brutally harsh cold.
Following the barely visible path, I round the corner and get my first glimpse of the small wooden structure. Part of the roof is caving in, and the door stands ajar, but it’s not too bad considering it’s been over nine hundred years since I last visited.
Cormal stops me. “Let me check it out first.”
With a nod, I step carefully to the side and let him pass.
Reaching under his parka, he unsheathes a pair of xiphos from his chest and eases the door open. The short, double-edged swords have been a favorite weapon of his for a long time, and he’s quite lethal with them. Quiet descends as we listen for any movement. Hearing nothing, he slips inside to search. Moments later, he sticks his head out and motions for us.
I push the roughhewn door open wider and peer inside the place I called home for an entire winter. We could never stay in one place for long, but the natural defenses built into the landscape around us provided Leandra with enough assurance to stay put for a few months.
I pull down my goggles and lift up the mask. Ten by ten, the square room doesn’t hold much. Leandra’s pallet was in the far corner, but that’s long gone. The remnants of one of the two chairs are on the floor next to the rickety table and the fireplace. There are a couple of crooked shelves with dishes still perched on them above a cracked porcelain basin.
Madoc stares around the room in shock. “Where did you sleep?”
I sweep the toe of my boot across the dirt floor. “Here. By the fireplace. We had to keep it lit at all times so we wouldn’t freeze.” I smile. “First winter I can remember being warm.”
Cormal’s fist clenches at my statement. “Do you see anything of hers?”
I move to the corner where she slept and pry open one of the boards in the wall. Empty. I glance back at them both and shake my head. “Nothing in the cupboard and the bed she slept in is gone. She burned it before we left.”
Madoc tilts his head and asks, “Why?”
He’s not talking about the bed. “This was a palace compared to most of the places we lived. Here we had water and heat. A roof over our head,” I answer. “And because we were extremely isolated, she had to stock up on food ahead of time, which meant regular meals. But the best part is outside.”
I take one last look around at the dingy floor and walls and silently thank them for sheltering me, then I roll down the mask and put on the goggles. Motioning for them to follow me, I step outside and slowly march around to the back. Ice changes to rocks beneath our feet, and I motion for them to climb the small mountain of boulders in front of us.
It takes us about twenty minutes to reach the top. Once we get there, I point to the pool down below. “It’s a hot spring.” I wave a hand at the forest surrounding us. “Here, she couldn’t give me tasks to carry out. So, I spent all day exploring before I came home to a hot bath, dinner, and warm bed. Heaven.”
I can’t help but glance at Cormal. “He even came to visit me a few times without her knowing.” The memory of me staring up at him, hoping he would make a move, with the steam rising around us. “Do you remember?”
Cormal clears his throat and pulls me closer. “Mmm, our first kiss. I’ll never forget.” His gloved finger traces a soft path across my lips. “One of my top five days ever.”
“Mine, too,” I admit with a sigh. It was the beginning and end of my memories of us together, but one I treasured for the longest time. After we left Hiemal, things changed between Cormal and me, and all these years later, I’m still trying to find out why.
“We need to go,” Cormal says, pointing to the darkening sky.
He begins the descent first, and Madoc and I follow. Unlike our trek here, he moves quickly, heading straight for the portal.
Madoc brushes my arm. “What’s the rush?”
“This isn’t a place you want to be after dark,” I inform him, panting a little from the rushed pace.
Daylight begins to dim, and Cormal picks up the pace. “Hurry!”
“There is no setting of the sun here,” I tell Madoc. “Night falls between one breath and the next, and the sky turns black.”
A horrifying roar rises behind us, but I don’t dare turn to look.
Cormal stands at the edge of the portal, and when I get close, he grabs my coat and pitches me through it. Madoc and Cormal dive through at the same time, and the portal closes behind them.
“That was close,” I say, laughing at the three of us lying on the floor of The Abbey.
Arden’s head appears above me. “Are you guys okay?”
I raise a hand, and she helps me up. “Peachy.” With deft movements, I strip off the gear making me sweat and swipe a hand across my damp forehead.
Cormal and Madoc remove all of their items as well.
“Where to next?” Cormal asks as he gathers up our clothing and magically makes it disappear.
“There are a few places we stayed at for less than a week. In our rush to leave, maybe she left something,” I speculate with a shrug. “I’ll write down a list.”
Madoc hasn’t looked at me since we returned. “I need to check on my friend.” With a wave of his hand, he strides into the portal without even saying goodbye.
Puzzled, I look at Cormal, but instead of looking confused, there’s an odd smile of satisfaction on his face. “I’ll check on him, then I need to go to my office for a bit. Will you be okay here?”
“Take me with you,” I plead almost desperately. “Your place is as safe as The Abbey.”
He shakes his head. “I need to visit Lucifer and bring him up to speed.” Pecking me on the lips, he too disappears into the portal.
Irritated, I look at Arden. “Still make those great sandwiches?”
She links her arm in mine. “Yes, and I have wine. Since you have magic now, why don’t you get us some cupcakes?”
Brightening, I laugh. “You’re right. Who said magic can’t make you happy?”
Later, full of food and wine, I leave Arden downstairs, but instead of finding my room, I make my way to Rivan. Arden told me they had all taken a turn training and sparring with him today, but it wasn’t enough, so she created a spell to give him imaginary foes while they all sleep.
I inhale sharply at the fight before me. Alone, he battles, feinting and thrusting, against other warriors. Swords clash and ring loudly in the air. If Arden hadn’t told me this was a spell, I’d never believe it wasn’t real. Not wanting to interrupt his concentration, I slide down the wall to watch.
His burnished skin is naked, void of all the runes that protect him. I wonder if this is part of his chosen punishment. The first night we met he lay on the floor, his runes near shredded by Nyssa’s nails, yet not once did he consider regenerating. He feared losing his protection more than the excruciating pain. And here it’s been at least a week without them covering his body.
A knife slashes across his arm, and I wince. Rivan, on the other hand, looks at the wound and flashes a grim look of satisfaction. It hurts to see him like this. Unable to watch anymore, I quietly stand and make my way to my room.
The long day and several glasses of wine help. Falling asleep the second my head hits the pillow, I drop into the memory of Cormal and me at the hot springs.
Luxuriating in the warmth of the water surrounding me, I lie back and float on its surface. Bitter cold air caresses the flashes of skin I expose above the water for the briefest of seconds, but the heat and steam quickly soothe the sting they leave behind.
We’ve been here for three weeks, and it’s been heaven. There are no tasks to hunt down a magical item or deliver a promise of death to one of her many enemies. She rarely even peeks her head out the door to find me. Not wanting to incur her wrath, I get up early in the morning, grab a piece of toast, and head out to explore the frozen tundra around us. I keep waiting for her to tell me to pack up, but every day she doesn’t is another day in paradise.
“I didn’t know there were sirens in this part of the world,” a dark, smoky voice jests from the rocks above me.
I immediately submerge my body and wipe the water from my eyes. It’s the man who came to visit Leandra a couple of months before we moved here. The same one who fueled my dreams for week, with his dark hair, blue eyes, and wicked smile.
“Cormal,” I stammer. “What are you doing here?” I turn my head to look at the desolate landscape. “How did you even find us?”
He flashes a smile that makes my toes curl. “There are few places I haven’t been. Until now, this was one.” He looks around. “Dangerous, but the quiet is peaceful.”
A vague answer, but I’m not surprised. It’s what I’d expect from the king of criminals. “Leandra’s in the little house down the path. If you turn around, you should see it from where you’re standing.”
White teeth flash. “I’m not here to see her.” His hands rub up and down his arms. “I’ll return tomorrow. Same time and place?”
Days slide by in a spinning wheel of images. Long walks in a white wonderland with equally long discussions about nothing and everything. Innocent dips in the hot springs that slowly become infused with a layer of unfulfilled need.
Like today.
Blue eyes study me intently as he faces me in the water.
My fingers clench with the desire pulsing through me, but I hold them under the water so he can’t see. Nervous, I bite my lip, wondering if he wants me the same way I want him, or if this is some long game of torturous friendship.
His large hand reaches out and snags me by the waist. “If you don’t want me to kiss you, tell me now.”
The huskiness of his voice propels me forward. “That’s all I’ve wanted for weeks. Kiss me, Cormal.” I wrap my slim arms around his neck and press my naked body up against his.
He inhales sharply and spears his other hand through my hair. Firm lips softly touch mine like butterfly wings once, twice, three times. When I move restlessly against him, wanting more, he groans, and those same lips harden, ruthlessly devouring everything in their path. His tongue plunges into my mouth, stroking and sucking, and stealing every thought from my head. I moan beneath the onslaught.
Without thinking, I wrap my bare legs around his body, and for a second, the kiss gets even wilder until he suddenly jerks away. Completely.
Startled, I stare at him. “What is it?” My body throbs in all the places it touched his, and all I want is to be in his arms again.
“You’re not ready,” he tells me.
Bewildered, I frown. “For kissing?”
“For all the things I want to do to you.”
It’s still dark when I wake, my body throbbing now as it did then. Young and inexperienced, I didn’t know what he meant, but I thought I did, and I wanted it with every fiber of my being.
My hands drift down my body, tempted to take care of myself, but I hold off. It’s not my fingers I want. It’s him. It’s always been him.