Chapter 37
37
Samantha
I was woken up by Ramone’s head between my legs. We stayed in bed for quite a while before Adam entered bearing a cup of coffee for me. Ramone draped the sheet over me right before the strange, silent man opened the door.
After we got ready for the day, I went downstairs and was only mildly surprised to see that more of the house had been cleaned. It was a mystery as to how that’d happened, since as far as I knew, Ramone hadn’t left my side until a couple of minutes ago.
Hours passed while I explored the building. There were seemingly a million different rooms, many of which appeared to never have been used. I had to wonder why the man would have so much space, and not utilize it, and filed the question away for later.
Eventually, Ramone returned, finding me in a solarium-type room. It wasn’t as spacious as one would expect, given the sheer size of the mansion, but it was cozy and inviting.
“I like to read in here sometimes,” he said, approaching me.
“I can see why, its lovely.” He’d changed from the casual clothes I’d watched him dress in earlier, now outfitted with a suit. “You’re dressed up,” I said. Adam had found leggings, sweaters, and blouses as well as undergarments from somewhere for me earlier, and I had gratefully made instant use of the clothing. “I do feel underdressed, now.”
“Can we talk about the crystal ball?” His shoulders sagged at my question.
“We can,” he said carefully. “I don’t know what to tell you about that. I know you don’t want to let me know what you saw. It may be our connection but I only sense minor magic in you; you could have more. This realm, the Fourth Realm, will nurture it if you possess it in a sufficient quantity. The sphere is in the Third Realm, so it's a nonissue.”
Nodding, I said, “So it doesn’t matter at this point. Unless I suddenly end up with all kinds of powers.”
“Correct. If that should happen, I’ll help you manage them.”
The thought of the possibility both terrified and fascinated me. It wasn’t anything I felt I needed, but it would be interesting should I turn out to have undiscovered talents. “Okay.”
“Come.” He held his arm out, motioning me toward the exit. “You’re breathtaking no matter what you wear.”
Following him down a long hallway, we stopped in front of an ornate door. “There are many tunnels in the Fourth Realm. We’re going to utilize this one to go to the castle. It will be cold, and it will be dark. You’re going to hold my hand and not let go.”
His tone sent a shudder over me. “Okay, why? Why take a tunnel?”
Pulling a key ring from his pocket, he unlocked the door. “The stairs are steep, hold the railing. The tunnels are quicker.”
As instructed, I hung on, thankful I wore an oversized sweater. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, it was pitch black, with the exception of Ramone’s eyes. He clasped my hand and physically directed me to walk behind him.
“You didn’t tell me why we’re going.” He stopped suddenly and I banged into him. I clung to him, basking in his heat.
He smoothed a hand down my side. “I need to show you something.” I heard him take the key ring out of his pocket.
Glaring sunlight greeted us as we stepped through the door. We were near the bridge that led directly to the castle, having come out of a small building. The tunnel had felt like it was deep underground, and I didn’t feel an incline during the short walk. The physics of what we’d just done escaped me
Ramone let go of my hand and approached the bridge, standing with his arms crossed, staring at it. “What do you think?” he asked, when I stopped alongside him. “Home?” His eyes glittered at me, the green shade brightening.
“Home?” I blinked at him, his words failing to compute. “What do you mean?”
He pulled me to me, his arms wrapping around my lower waist. “If we can’t reign in hell, we’ll reign here.”
Did he fancy himself a king? “I’m not royalty like you. What about your house?” It appeared he was planning on moving us into the decaying, ruined building. “This place is...its collapsing.”
Ramone chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Have you forgotten who you’re speaking to? Go look inside.”
He arched an eyebrow at me, and I began moving forward, crossing the bridge, before waiting for him at the set of doors. I heard a rustling and sucked in a breath when the largest wolf I ever could’ve imagined passed by on the slope below the crossing. My eyes sought Ramone, silently begging him to hurry up. He sure was taking his sweet time.
And then, I saw. Each measured step he took, something righted itself. The proper color and form began returning to a tree as he strolled by it. A lilac bush burst into blossom when he glanced at it, and finally, the boulder I’d had to skirt dissolved into thin air.
“How did you do that? Was that your magic?”
The man smirked at me and curled his fingers before stretching them. “Yes, mostly. It appears the curse is breaking already. They must’ve drank the other bottles.” The front door opened via his sorcery, and I followed inside. “The mansion will be cleaned up, don’t worry. But first, here. You’ll see I made some adjustments before you got up.”
Barely hearing him, I spun in a circle. Glittering weapons were fastened to the walls and the floor shone. Huge wrought-iron chandeliers hung overhead, glistening crystals dripping around the circumference. A plush carpet lay across the staircase we’d climbed recently. Remembering the quartz arch, I quickly went to investigate.
As I suspected, the mess was cleaned up. In its place was a smaller arch, formed of what I’d guess were rubies. “Ramone....” I stopped. I didn’t know what to say. It was overwhelming, the difference between what had been and what it was now.
“What do you think?” He asked. “Do you like it? I can change it however you like.”
My eyes watered. How did he go from being so needlessly cruel—to this? He was practically waiting on me hand and foot since we got to this realm, and I knew he was sincere. Had there been anyone to witness it, they would have seen it as well, had they known him before.
“It's perfect.” He grinned at my words. “There’s more,” he said. I followed him.
We entered the room where the dais had been. It was still there, but now it was refurbished. The room was immaculate, no dust or splintered wood, no torn material or broken wooden beams. In place of the rotting furniture sat two immense chairs, thrones.
Dear Lord, the man was serious.
I bit my lip. He’d said “we”, but there was no one to reign over. “This is beautiful, but I guess I didn’t really take you seriously.”
“People will come. They will come out of hiding as well as from other realms. It may take a bit for everything to fall into place. Things don’t work the same here as they do at your home. Time is different, for one.”
“Oh my God! What will my parents think happened to me?” Horror suddenly washed over me at the thought of them having lost another child, their last surviving child. “Ramone, I have to go home.” It was too much, thinking of how someone would do all this with me and for me, actually caring what I thought.
He grabbed my hand. “Ilya will take care of all those things, don’t worry, he knows what to do. Don’t forget, if you go home, it will be worse for them. My father would not hesitate to not only harm you, but them.”
“But—”
“Please, Samantha, trust me on this.”
Leaning my head on his shoulder, I took a deep breath. I had the opportunity to be free, to start over, and with a man I’d come to love and knew I’d end up loving deeply. “Okay, I do. I trust you.” And I did. He gave up everything for me. I could do the same; we’d start over.
I pulled away and walked onto the dais, running a finger along the material of one of the thrones. The view from the height was perfect, you could see the whole room at just the right angle to see every face. Once people began showing up, anyway.
This was happening. It was really happening. The thought caused me to take a deep breath and let out a long exhale.
Ramone jogged up the short steps and joined me. “What do you think, my love? Are you ready enough?”
Somehow, he knew I now had my mind set and I was grateful he could read me so well. He was asking me if I was ready to move forward. I was. “Yes. What’s next?”
“People will realize I’m here, and here to stay. They’ll want to meet my wife.”
My head snapped to the side. “Your wife?”
He chuckled. “Relax, of course I mean you.”
“You never asked me, though.”
My anger over “his wife” had me interestingly prepared to murder someone. I had to wonder if it was his influence on me, or a part of myself I’d never explored. I’d have to consider the possibilities later.
Ramone nodded at my left hand, and I lifted it. A ring with a blood-red ruby sat where a wedding band should be. “It's gorgeous,” I whispered, swaying my hand in the light and marveling at the clarity of the red stone. “Is this real?”
He met my gaze with a flash of irritation. “Why would you even ask that? Do you think you deserve less than that from me?”
“No, no. I love it, I just can’t believe how beautiful it is.”
Ramone grabbed me so quickly my hands splayed against his chest. “Wait until I make you jewelry with our enemies’ blood, the beauty is unparalleled, almost as much so as you.” He pressed his lips to mine, molding his mouth over my own, before releasing me.
“Enemies, huh? This could get interesting.” I rolled my eyes at him. Apparently, he still wanted to go around murdering people.
Really, I just wanted a peaceful life. I was looking forward to exploring this new plane of existence, without a body count.
His eyes gleaned with excitement. “Always.” He seemed much too thrilled over the possibility of adversaries. I tilted my head at him, and he winked at me.
“So, what do we do now?”
Ramone licked his lips, his eyes glowing brighter as he stalked toward me. “Now we christen the thrones. Both of them.”
My body flushed with heat. “Is that your version of happily ever after?”
“My little witch,” he said, tracing his lips along my neck. “that’s infernally ever after.”