Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
Darius
Emotion swelled inside me, threatening to break the dam I'd built over all these years. Everything rolled back—memories I'd buried deep. Family. Havenwood. The life I thought I'd lost forever.
I couldn't believe I'd forgotten them. Forgotten what it felt like to be home.
But none of this would have been possible without Alice.
I held onto Lucien tightly, afraid if I let go, he'd disappear and I'd wake up back in the Elder Dimension. Back in chains. Back in Alanna's nightmare.
"How did you get back here?” Lucien choked out, his voice raw.
I slowly untangled myself from him, keeping one hand on his shoulder—needing to feel that he was real. Solid. Here.
I wiped my tears and turned my gaze to Alice.
She stood apart from us, arms wrapped around herself, looking small and uncertain. Like she didn't belong. Like she was waiting to be turned away.
My heart cracked.
I stretched out my hand to her. “And I’m back because of her."
She hesitated, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
My chest ached. After everything she'd been through—for me—she was still standing. Still fighting. I didn't deserve her.
"Come here, Fate," I said softly.
She took my hand, and I pulled her against me. "Lucien, this is my mate, Alice Ravencrest." Pride swelled in my chest. "She's the one who got us out of the Elder Dimension. She's powerful. More powerful than she knows."
I kissed her cheek, feeling her tremble against me.
But when I called her my mate, something in her softened. She leaned into me, and I felt her shoulders drop. Mine. She was mine, and she knew it.
Lucien's eyebrows rose. He glanced at Raven, then back at Alice. A slow grin spread across his face.
"Two powerful females." He winked at me. "How are the males going to survive?"
The dragon shifted behind him—scales rippling, bones cracking, massive form shrinking. In moments, the terrifying creature was gone, replaced by a beautiful dark-haired woman with sharp amber eyes and a knowing smile.
My sister-in-law. Raven Acosta.
Completely naked.
Gasps echoed behind me. I turned and laughed.
Flint's jaw hung open. Steel had slapped a hand over his eyes—but was clearly peeking through his fingers. Caterpillar's smoke froze mid-curl, his dark eyes wide as saucers. Even Bunny had covered her children's eyes, her cheeks flaming red.
Chester's golden eyes grew impossibly large. Then his grin stretched wider than I'd ever seen it.
"Curious... very curious." He tilted his head, making no effort to look away. "In the Elder Dimension, the queens lose their heads. Here, the dragons lose their clothes." His grin sharpened. "I think I like this world."
"Eyes up here," Raven said dryly, utterly unbothered by her nudity.
Chester's grin didn't falter. "But the view down there is so much more interesting."
Lucien growled and stepped in front of his mate, wings flaring. "Watch yourself."
"Shifters shed their clothes when they shift," I said to the others from the Elder Dimension. "You'll get used to it."
Raven laughed—a warm, rich sound—as Lucien wrapped his cloak around her shoulders. "Welcome to Havenwood. I have a feeling things are about to get very interesting."
Lucien scowled. “Are those harpies?”
“Friends,” I said. “They helped us escape.”
He cocked his head toward Alice who was holding the hat. "What's with the hat, little brother?"
I smiled and winked at Alice. "Magical. Only I can control it."
"What does it do?"
"Compels you to tell the truth."
Lucien's eyebrows shot up. He took a step back. "Remind me never to get too close to that thing."
I laughed. "Afraid of a little honesty, brother?"
"I'm a married man," Lucien said dryly. "Some truths are better left unspoken."
"Darius?"
I turned, and more tears clouded my eyes.
Armond. My twin.
Same silver eyes. Same long, dark, curly hair. Same height. Like looking into a mirror of the man I used to be before Alanna broke me.
He was here. He was real.
Alice gasped next to me.
Armond hurried toward me, and I rushed to meet him. We collided in the middle of the courtyard, arms wrapping around each other.
I held onto him tight, unable to let go. My twin. My other half. The piece of me I'd been missing for years.
"God, I've missed you," I choked out.
"I knew you were alive." Armond's voice was rough against my ear. "I never stopped believing. Never."
"Darius! Darius!"
My throat closed. My eyes burned. I knew that voice. I'd dreamed of it in the darkest nights of Alanna's dungeon.
I released Armond and turned.
My mother was running toward me—Abrianna Acosta, the Queen of Havenwood.
Her dark hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail. She wore a T-shirt and jeans, no crown, no finery. Unlike Alanna, Mom had never cared for airs. Never needed jewels or gowns to prove her worth.
"Mom," I whispered.
She crashed into me, her arms wrapping around my neck. She was smaller than I remembered. Or maybe I'd just grown.
I held onto her like I was five years old again—like she could make all the nightmares go away just by holding me.
Memories flooded through me. Her reading me stories by candlelight. Playing hide-and-seek in these very halls. The way she'd kiss my forehead and tell me I was brave.
The wave of emotion hit so hard my knees buckled. We sank to the ground together, my arms wrapped around her. I nearly passed out.
"My boy," she sobbed against my chest. "My beautiful boy. You came back to me."
Strong, pounding steps thundered toward us.
I looked up just in time to see my father, Gregori, barreling across the courtyard.
My mother had been softness and comfort.
My father was strength. Safety. The man who'd taught me to fight, to fly, to survive.
Seeing him now—I was a boy again. He picked me up like I weighed nothing and pulled me into his massive arms.
"Damn boy," he growled, his voice breaking.
He buried his face into my hair, his shoulders shaking with sobs. My father—the king of Havenwood, the strongest man I'd ever known—was crying.
That undid me completely. I'd held it together through torture, through Alanna, through all of it. But this—my father's tears—shattered whatever was left.
The rest of them surrounded us. Lucien. Raven. Armond. Mom. Arms wrapped around me from every direction, holding me up, holding me together.
More memories crashed into me—Armond being kidnapped when we were kids. Finding him as a teenager. The war with Cormac. The sacrifice I made. Being pulled into the Elder Dimension. Years of torture. Years of loneliness. Years of believing I'd never see them again.
It took my breath away. I needed my family to anchor me.
But something was missing.
Someone.
Alice.
I pulled away from my family’s protective circle and took a deep breath. Tears stained my cheeks, and I hurriedly wiped them away.
Alice. Where was Alice? I scanned the courtyard, my heart pounding. I needed to see her. Needed her in my arms.
She stood next to Chester and Caterpillar, holding my hat. Her eyes were glossy with tears, her arms wrapped around herself like she was afraid to intrude on the moment.
Like she didn't belong.
I cleared my throat, trying to gain control over the bubbling feelings inside me. "I wouldn't be here without my team." I gestured to the twins, the harpies, Chester, Caterpillar, and even Bunny clutching her children. "But the person who changed everything was my Alice."
I crossed to her, clasped her hand, and pulled her against me. And there it was. The missing piece. My parents. My home. And now Alice. For the first time in years, I felt whole. "She's my mate."
Raven laughed. "And a powerful female. Welcome to the family, Alice. Hope you're ready for chaos, love, and overprotective males."
Alice's breath hitched. "Family?"
My chest swelled. She'd spent her whole life without one. Rejected. Alone. And now I could give her what she'd always wanted.
My mom and dad approached us. Alice glanced up at me nervously, her fingers tightening around mine.
I squeezed back. She had nothing to worry about. They were going to love her.
Mom cupped Alice's face gently. "I don't know what you did to bring my son home, but you've filled a hole in our hearts we thought would never heal." Her voice trembled. "You're one of us now."
My father stepped forward, and to my shock, lowered his head in a bow of respect. My throat tightened. My father didn't bow to anyone. Ever. But he bowed to Alice—recognized her worth without hesitation.
I glanced at her. Tears glistened in her eyes, her lips parted in disbelief. She'd spent her whole life being dismissed. Now a king was pledging to protect her.
I squeezed her hand and turned to the others.
"Let me introduce you to the rest of my team." I clasped Chester's shoulder. "This is Chester. Just to warn you—he can disappear and reappear at will."
Raven cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"
Chester's body vanished. A moment later, his wide grin materialized in front of Raven's face, followed by his gleaming golden eyes.
"Curiouser and curiouser," he purred. "A dragon who sheds her scales. A queen without a crown." His grin widened. "I think we'll get along splendidly."
Raven blinked then let out a delighted laugh. "Oh, I like this one."
I clasped Caterpillar's arm. "And this smoky one is Caterpillar. I wouldn't have survived without these two."
Caterpillar exhaled a lazy ring of smoke. "Survival... is merely the beginning." His dark eyes swept over Havenwood's towering walls. "The story... continues."
I glanced at Alice before releasing her hand. She gave me a small nod, her eyes warm. She was okay. She was safe. I could let go—for now.
I stepped between the twins. "These two big lugs are Flint and Steel, who fought by my side."
Flint puffed out his chest. "And we always will."
Steel elbowed his brother. "Speak for yourself. I'm still sore from those talons."
Last, I went over to Bunny. "And this sweet lady is Bunny and these are her three children."
Mom glanced up at Dad, her eyes soft. "Our family just got bigger."
"Yes, it has," Dad drawled. Then his gaze shifted across the courtyard and hardened. "What the fuck is Ari doing here? And why isn't he moving?"
"Because I froze him," Alice said simply.
My family turned to stare at her. She shrugged at their surprised faces.
"I can freeze time."
"And she can slow it," I added proudly. "Or even move it backward."
Armond smiled slowly. "So she is powerful."
"More than she knows," I said, pulling her close.
She ducked her head, a blush creeping up her cheeks. She never could take a compliment. But I meant every word—and one day, she'd believe it too.
Dad frowned at Ari's frozen form. "How long will he stay that way?"
"It depends; Alice is still working on that,” I said. "You'd better contact Stefan Gabor."
Dad nodded grimly. "Done." He turned toward the guards stationed by the courtyard entrance. "Guards!"
Two guards rushed toward us. "Yes, sire?"
"Take Ari to the dungeon."
All those years trapped in the Elder Dimension—fighting to stay alive, fighting to stay sane—were finally behind me.
I was home.
All because of Alice.
I glanced down at her, this fierce, impossible woman who had crashed into my life and changed everything. Who had believed in six impossible things before breakfast. Who had blown through magical doors and frozen an entire court to save me.
I would never let her go.
She was mine. Mine to protect. Mine to cherish. Mine to love.
Forever.