Chapter Ten #2
Fen went over every moment of the past few months in his head, all the way to the moment he woke up on the floor of his shower alongside a not breathing Kyrie.
He had never been more confused or scared.
Kyrie had caught him in such a whirlwind, Fen had forgotten all about Kyrie’s mystery illness and the time Kyrie called Jormungandr Monnie—like they were friends.
What he had witnessed wasn’t friendship, and Fen hated himself for all the things he had simply forgotten.
His angel had needed him, and Fen had been so caught up in his own happiness, he had failed his mate.
Kyrie hadn’t had another incident of not waking up since their mating.
He had pushed the incidents from his mind.
Fen had told himself it was just dehydration or something and went on with life.
Now he listened to Kyrie’s heartbeat get slower by the hour, and the most powerful people he knew couldn’t do anything but try to seek answers from Celeste.
In the meantime, all Fen could do was wait and pray Frost could find out what no one else could.
It felt like a million years passed. He needed Kyrie to open his eyes and explain everything.
Everything inside Fen begged for whatever plan Monnie claimed they had hatched to be all bullshit and had nothing to do with their relationship.
This had to be a sick, cruel joke. He wouldn’t feel this strongly unless they were real.
This waiting to know the truth and to hear the entire story choked the life from him.
Fen worried he might be the one whose heart stopped.
He had never been so exhausted, and he couldn’t figure out why.
As a vampire, even this massive amount of stress, fear, and sadness shouldn’t make him this worn down.
Fen hadn’t felt this way since he was a new turn.
The sound of Kyrie’s soft heartbeat hypnotized him.
Fen’s eyes slid closed. He just needed to rest for half a second, then he could get back to hovering and maybe start some pacing.
His head bobbed. He sucked in a sharp gasp, startled by his dozing.
His eyes shot open. He blinked. Kyrie was gone.
Not passed. Just not there. He blinked again.
The bed was still empty. Alarms blared as the king’s perimeter was breached.
Fen jumped to his feet. His panicked gaze shot in every direction.
The blaring stopped, but Fen’s terror didn’t.
Frost rushed into the room. He immediately focused on the bed. His shoulders sagged. “I was afraid of that.”
“Of what? What happened? Where is my mate?” The shouted words were beyond his control. He couldn’t lower his voice. The fear was real. Every loss was too big. He was tired of staying calm when it was obviously time to panic.
Frost moved to the bed and sat. “I have no idea.” He looked defeated, which didn’t give Fen hope. “My guess is his body rejoined his soul.”
Fen’s brain hurt. The frustration had him ready to tear down the world. His blood boiled. Someone had to start answering questions soon or he couldn’t be held responsible for his actions. “What the fuck does that even mean?”
Frost rubbed his temples, as if his head pounded, and he dealt with his own existential crisis. “Jormungandr had Kyrie’s soul.”
“I know that goddamn much.”
Fen’s rage didn’t seem to penetrate whatever inner crisis Frost endured.
Frost simply kept talking as if Fen hadn’t said a word.
“As soon as Celeste heard, she sent word to Freyr. It seems he maybe ripped off Jormungandr’s legs or something like that.
Unfortunately, they’ll grow back, but Freyr ensured Kyrie’s safety.
As soon as the news dropped, I raced in here, in case he needed me when his soul returned to his body. It seems it went the opposite way.”
Fen sat. “I don’t understand any of that. Went the opposite way? Does that mean he’s still in the dreaming? I don’t know what’s happening right now.”
“Yeah, me either, really.” Frost stared into space, sounding as defeated as Fen felt.
“There for a while, I really thought I was making a difference—that I was helping. Every day, I feel a little more useless.” Frost flashed him a wry smile.
“I’m sure you don’t care about any of that, and it probably doesn’t make you feel any better.
” The smile disappeared. “I’m sorry I failed you. Apparently, that’s what I do now.”
“It’s okay to be sad, but it’s not okay to give up.”
Fen and Frost’s head whipped toward the open doorway. A beautiful, angelic-looking blond stood, waiting for their attention while twisting a ragged-looking doll and looking unsure of his welcome.
“Hey, Tam.” Frost still sounded beyond saving, but he obviously knew their visitor.
Tam took a small step into the room. His eyes darted between them.
He reminded Fen of a skittish animal, looking for any excuse to run away.
Suddenly, Tam’s heaven-colored eyes focused on Fen.
All hints of innocence and uncertainty disappeared.
Pure, unadulterated power stared at him. “Maybe I am an animal.”
Fuck. It seemed Tam was powerful. Even a mind as old as Fen’s didn’t stand a chance of hiding any thoughts from him. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
A bright smile lit Tam’s face. “You didn’t.
” In a flash, too quick for the eye to see, Tam was a tiny white fox.
He bounced from wall to wall and furniture to furniture like a fox on crack.
He was back to human every bit as quickly.
The odd part was, Fen knew damn well this was no Werefox.
Weres couldn’t shift while wearing clothes and still have clothes at the end.
He was so much stronger than any creature Fen had ever met …
and dangerous. Tam practically crackled with untapped power.
He sat on the floor and hugged his doll the way a child would do.
Fen recognized the act for what it was. Tam knew he was the most powerful being in the room, but he seemed to want them to understand they weren’t in danger.
Tam’s focus locked on Frost. “You didn’t fail.
You’re just sad and worried about Gemini.
It’s bleeding into everything else. Trust me, I do that all the time too.
The mind doesn’t care about the truth or how badly you want to be normal like everyone else.
But you’re not failing Gemini or at being a healer.
He didn’t lose anything by being paired with you.
He gained everything. When I met Risk, I refused to accept that he could love me, since I was just this broken thing that crawled from Hell.
I didn’t want to taint him.” Tam stared at nothing for a moment.
“Still don’t, actually.” He shook his head, as if shaking off a trance.
“But those thoughts aren’t real. They’re make believe. ”
Fen tried his ass off to keep his mind blank, but there was a lot of information in that lecture that only led to more questions. Apparently, Tam had crawled from Hell and had a mate named Risk. Fen gathered that much.
Tam kept talking, ignoring any thoughts Fen might have let slip through.
“You need to face the truth. You keep thinking you’re this human who got tossed into a position you can’t achieve.
The reality is—you’ve never been human. You’ve always been part of our world.
Someone hid you behind a human glamour. Maybe it was the right thing to do at the time.
There’s no way I can know. But there was never any chance you could escape your true identity.
There was no way to ignore the fact that you can’t die and magic and power runs through your blood.
You would have eventually found us, no matter what else happened in your life.
There’s no escaping fate.” Tam went from serious to chipper so fast, it nearly made Fen’s head spin.
“Plus, you’re my cousin or something like that and I would’ve come for you and dragged you to Wulfe so you could find your mate.
I really need to sit down and think about this family tree business.
” He seemed to turn inward. Tam used his fingers as if counting.
“I’m Michael’s son and Michael is Celeste’s grandson.
So, I’m Celeste’s great-grandson. Lucifer is Celeste’s twin and you’re his son.
So, you’re my cousin, right?” He looked Fen’s way with his brow furrowed. “It is cousin, right?”
Thankfully, the total shock hadn’t rendered Fen totally mute. “Yeah. That sounds right.”
Tam brightened as he focused on Frost again. “See. You can’t escape us.”
Frost looked as if his soul took a hike. There was no one home. He stared at nothing and had zero reaction. It was like his body was in suspended animation.
Tam stood, seemingly oblivious to the bomb he dropped.
“Anyhow. Stop thinking all of this is some big mistake or dream. Gemini loves you. He doesn’t think he got screwed out of some normal life with kids and a less dangerous spouse.
You’re exactly what he wants and you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
In fact, you’re a pretty kick-ass healer.
Don’t blame yourself for not knowing Monnie held Kyrie’s soul hostage.
No one could’ve known that. Even Granny Celeste was in the dark.
I mean, Monnie is a pretty crafty god in his own right.
Plus, the gods don’t spend their days in each other’s business or anything like that.
Just ask your dad. They just do their thing. ”
Frost cleared his throat. His voice came out sounding gruff. “Yeah. I’ll ask.”
With a smile and a wave, Tam trounced away, singing something at the top of his lungs about bashing mice on the head.
Fen looked Frost’s way.
Frost stared at nothing again.
“Are you okay?”
Frost cleared his throat. “Yeah. Just making a mental list of all the people who’ve lied to me and used me.”
Before Fen could respond, a visibly enraged Gemini strode through the door, looking more badass than Fen had ever seen him.
Gemini had always struck him as more of a lover than a fighter.
Fen saw the strength Celeste obviously counted on now.
His eyes were terrifying. He didn’t acknowledge Fen.
His angry steps carried him to Frost. “I’ve had enough.
” He snatched Frost from the bed and tossed him over his shoulder, leaving Fen behind.
That was fine. Fen had some rage to deal with too—like how dare Monnie fuck with his mate?
That soul belonged to Fen. Mating mark or not, Kyrie was his other half.
Fuck the gods and their bullshit. Just as Gemini appeared to be done with their shit, Fen was too.
Kyrie was his. How fucking dare anyone claim otherwise? Fen stood. It was time to find his man.