Chapter Twenty-Three
“Raine.”
I heard Remy’s voice right before that oblivion train hit me. If I could hear, then I could breathe! I coughed out the water in my lungs, gagging and retching repeatedly. Thumps on my back helped the process, and after a few minutes, I took in a breath that didn’t feel like I’d inhaled molten iron.
When my eyes focused, Remy was crouched next to me. Dirty water streaked down his body in dark lines that dripped onto me. He was so close that I couldn’t see much beyond his muscled chest and those broad shoulders.
“Hey,” I said in a croak.
Remy made a relieved noise and leaned back. Now I saw a cavernous space around us. It was made of pure black stone, like obsidian, and something protruded from the ceiling that was either a gargantuan chandelier or backlit stalactites.
“Where are we?”
“In the lowest level of my tower.”
We’d made it. We were safe. My mouth cracked into a faint smile. “Your telekinesis really came through.”
His answering smile was more natural. “Telekinetics can move anything with their minds, including people. I can only move, deconstruct, and reconstruct small bits of organic or inorganic matter using vibration and sound.”
My snort made my nasal passages burn. “You ‘deconstructed’ our way through solid rock to get us here, so don’t act humble now. It doesn’t suit you.”
He brushed my lips with his. “No. It doesn’t.”
I was so surprised, I froze. Was this just a casual, “glad you’re alive” kiss?
Remy leaned back, ending that quandary. He squeezed my shoulder, then got up and went to the far side of the obsidian room. He tapped the wall a few times, and turned back to me.
“Someone will be here soon. How do you feel?”
A little queasy, but considering I’d nearly drowned, I felt pretty great. My lungs barely burned anymore. Remy’s shared healing abilities must be doing their work inside me.
I sat up and took another look at the black stone room.
The floor was made of the same smooth, unknown mineral.
The space was as large as a ballroom, but empty aside from those crystals in the ceiling.
I still couldn’t determine if they were natural or man-made.
The light behind them had to be artificial.
Without it, we’d be in complete darkness.
“It doesn’t look like we’re in two dimensions at once,” I remarked. “How wild to realize we are.”
Remy came closer. The river had washed most of the blood off. Only dirt from his incredible, sound-based tunneling through this place’s foundations marred his golden bronze skin.
“Scientists have long theorized that different dimensions exist right next to each other. What they don’t realize is that in some places, they overlap.
What you call my hidden Fells Point hotel is actually the Warden’s tower that has stood in Orion for nearly a thousand years.
It’s located on the exact point in the Patapsco River where Orion overlaps with Baltimore, hence its presence in two places at once.
Long before me, Wardens hid that intersecting point with magic to ensure that people didn’t accidentally access the gateway connecting the two realms.”
It clicked then. “The gorgeous garden path is the gateway.” That’s why it looked so trippy. “You built your Baltimore hotel around it.”
Remy only smiled. “Some of the world’s most notable structures have been built around gateways in order to house them. Angkor Wat, Petra, Machu Picchu, the pyramids—”
I held out a hand. “Stop. My brain is still waterlogged.”
His smile remained, but something changed in his gaze. Eyes that often gleamed like blue fire now softened until they reminded me of the pale azure of a morning sky.
“You’ve done so well, Raine.”
I let out a weary snort. “I haven’t done much at all. You’re the one who got us safely back to your hotel despite me arguing every step of the way.”
“I don’t mean that.” He didn’t move, but it somehow felt like there was less space between us.
“You didn’t even know Wardens or other worlds existed a few weeks ago.
Since then, you killed a pair of Basilisks to save Brendan’s life, made a bargain with a dangerous Warden, found out you’re living among various supernatural beings, then were nearly killed by Vengers, kidnapped by a Siphon, brought to a hidden world, and coerced into using a whale for underwater transport. ”
Now Remy did move closer, his warm fingers entwining with mine. I had no more water in my lungs, but suddenly it felt like it was getting harder to breathe.
“And all the while, you never thought of giving up.” A whisper that stroked my skin like a brush of feathers. “You’re incredible, Raine, and you don’t even realize it.”
Holding his stare felt more intimate than anything I’d done before.
Sex was only a merging of skin if the other person didn’t know you, and I couldn’t let anyone know me.
Remy did, though. More than I ever thought was possible.
He might have listed flattering things now, but he’d also seen the ugly parts and the murderous ones.
And he still stared at me as if the slightest invitation would have him closing that short distance between our mouths. …
I cleared my throat and looked away. If I kissed him now, I wouldn’t stop, which would be bad for many reasons.
“You’re not mentioning everything you did,” I said in the most neutral voice I could manage. “Like keeping me from drowning just now.”
The smile wiped from Remy’s face. “You can’t drown, Raine. I already told you that.”
The agony I’d felt when water filled my lungs made my voice sharper. “It sure felt like I could.”
Remy let out a long sigh. “Raine…”
Whatever he’d been about to say was cut off when the rock wall where he’d been tapping split open, revealing two men inside a crystalline chamber.
“Warden!” one of them gasped. “You’re here!”
Remy rose. “An excellent summation of the obvious, Chase.”
Chase blanched even paler than his ecru complexion. “Of course. It’s just we had no notice that you’d arrived, sir.”
“This was a surprise security test,” Remy said crisply. “Fortunately for you, I found no issues. Now, have refreshments brought to my room. My céile and I are hungry.”
He’d lied about the rest, but that was true. I’d barely eaten yesterday. I could devour an entire pizza right now.
“Right away!” Chase said.
Remy held out his hand to me.
I didn’t need it to stand, but I took it. Chase and the other guard averted their gazes at once.
I glanced down. That’s right, I was braless, and my tank top was soaking wet and ripped in several places. Add to that the cold water I’d been in, and my nipples looked like they were trying to introduce themselves to everyone.
I folded my arms over my chest.
“Remove your jacket,” Remy said.
My gaze widened, but when both guards started stripping from the waist up, I realized he wasn’t talking to me.
“Just you, Chase,” Remy amended.
Chase handed Remy his braided navy tunic. He had a sheer mesh garment beneath it. It almost looked like chain mail, except it was so light that it couldn’t be.
Remy gave me the tunic. It hung to my hips. Sometimes, it paid to be only five-four.
“Thank you,” I said to Chase.
He nodded smartly. “My pleasure, ma’am.”
I didn’t correct him. I’d surrendered to my “ma’am” fate.
Remy drew me next to him as we walked toward the crystalline chamber.
His skin shouldn’t feel warm after our chilly excursions in the river, but it did.
I wanted to soak up his heat while I brushed the dripping raven locks away from his forehead, and I had the perfect excuse to do so.
He’d introduced me as his céile. Being affectionate would only sell that.
But I didn’t. His ease in lying to the guard reminded me of my need to tread carefully. If I touched Remy now, it wouldn’t be acting.
The tall oval chamber—elevator?—didn’t have any visible electric lighting. The quartz-like substance it was made of seemed to glow from within with a soft white light. The floor felt cool against my bare feet, and my soaked pajama pants left a small puddle beneath me.
Remy tapped the interior panel next to the doors. They closed. Another tap revealed blue lights filling up the panel. He chose one near the top, said a word, and we were off.
“I call dibs on the shower,” I said. Letting streams of hot water wash away the remains of this terrible night sounded almost as good as a pizza to me.
Remy’s arms encircled me, bringing me against his warm, hard body. “No need for dibs,” he murmured. “We’ll share it.”
I might not be selling the relationship lie right now, but he was. Guess that was my cue to step up, too.
“I can’t wait,” I said, turning to stroke the new stubble on his chin that made his jawline even darker and sexier.
He brought my fingers to his lips and kissed them.
I shouldn’t have felt that all the way down to my toes, but I did, and desperately tried not to think about what his mouth would feel like in other places.
The crystalline elevator chimed in rapid succession as we went up. I counted the chimes while trying to scrub my mind of the explicit, forbidden images it kept serving up.
Come on, brain! I’d expect this from my vag, but you’re supposed to be the smart part of me!
If each chime indicated a floor level, we’d now passed more than thirty floors, and Remy’s light caresses never ceased.
The touches didn’t stray beyond what we’d agreed to for public displays, but each graze of his fingers sent pleasure racing through me.
He seemed to know exactly which parts of my arms and back were the most sensitive, too, and he stroked them until I was having a hard time concealing my hitched breaths.
How could this affect me so much? He wasn’t even touching any of the good parts! And how long was this damn elevator ride? Were we going to the moon in this?
The elevator doors finally opened. I almost sagged in relief. Even better, I saw the familiar roof with its white couches, gargoyle guardians, and impenetrable gloom curtaining it off from the rest of Orion. We were only one gateway-containing garden path away from being back in the normal world.
I outpaced Remy in reaching the roof’s only exit.
The gargoyles had barely finished their menacing jump down before Remy’s voice had them back on their elevated perches.
Then I was racing down that mystical floral pathway, stopping only when I reached the iron-dressed doors that marked the end of it.
Letting it in here is a mistake, Mandal had said when Remy first brought me to this garden path. I’d thought Mandal had meant Remy’s secret hotel. But Mandal meant Orion, a world I hadn’t realized existed even when I was on a roof inside of it.
I tried to open the doors. They didn’t budge. Of course they wouldn’t. No one could cross them without the passcode.
Remy appeared. His guards hadn’t followed him. He said something in a language I didn’t recognize, followed by, “Try the doors now.”
I did. They opened. I’d never been so happy to see electric lighting and carpet in my entire life.
I knew better than to rush to the elevator and punch in the floor number for my old hotel room. Much as I longed for space, I had to stay in Remy’s room for the foreseeable future.
I went to his door, feeling hyperaware of him as he followed behind me. The hallway was empty, a relief. With no one around, Remy wouldn’t have to fake being affectionate.
Unless he hadn’t been faking. He’d already told me he was attracted to me. Earlier, he’d kissed me, albeit briefly. Can’t call that pretending when no one else had been around to see it.
Remy opened his door with a palm scan, and gestured for me to go inside. I did, and was almost knocked backward by Belle, who launched herself at my ankles.
I was even happier to see her than I had been to see electricity and carpet. “I’m sorry, baby!” I said, picking her up. “I didn’t mean to leave you with such a bad man!”
Remy’s mouth curled down. “I could say the same to you.”
We hadn’t spoken about Travis beyond the barest details. I’d only been focused on what Travis had done to me. That was understandable given the circumstances, but it hit me now that Remy had been betrayed by someone he’d trusted so much, he’d had Travis guard his grandfather.
“You should know Travis hadn’t been a bad person for long.”
Remy’s gaze grew hard. “How would you know that?”
I tried to explain. “His aura was still mostly blue. That means he was a good guy for most of his life. Something happened recently to turn it gray, though, and I don’t know if his red streaks were from guard-duty violence, or something else new.”
“Travis lost his brother two years ago. He took it very hard. And tomorrow, I’m lining up every guard I have for you to look them over.”
I couldn’t tell if he was joking. If he was serious … “It’s not foolproof. Except for the occasional bright flashes, your aura almost screams ‘violence incarnate,’ remember?”
He flashed a humorless smile. “Few people talk about auras when they tell stories of Beasts. Their renown mainly comes from their violence, elemental immunity, and ability to overcome most types of magic. With such formidable weapons, Beasts’ hosts probably didn’t bother to learn about auras. That you did is remarkable.”
I let out a short laugh as I set Belle down.
“Don’t be so hard on those other hosts. I only used to see auras when the Beast was close enough to break out.
When that happens, you’re usually so busy trying to stuff it back down that you don’t have time to tell whose aura is what color, let alone why. ”
His head tilted. “Your sweetness is truly a marvel.”
Now my laugh was bitter. “I’m not sweet. If I was…”
I stopped. I’d been about to say, If I was, I wouldn’t be so suspicious of you, but of course I couldn’t say that.
Remy’s gaze became that penetrating one that seemed to see into my deepest secrets.
It was hard to hold his stare, but I didn’t look away.
God, his eyes were like inner flame and arctic ice combined.
Staring into them felt like being tempted to burn, freeze, and then burn again, all while begging for more because it felt so good. …
A knock shattered the silence. I was so startled, I almost tripped in the puddle my sodden clothes had made at my feet.
Remy spun around, answering it with a curt “What?”
I’d expected to see a room service cart. He’d ordered “refreshments,” after all. But it was Mandal. He was empty-handed, and his expression was grim.
“The ruler of Orion is demanding an immediate audience, and Lord Morsyn insists that you bring your future céile, too.”