Chapter 24
twenty-four
OPHELIA
I spent the next two weeks working out the details of exactly what we'd need to do with the prison.
Or rather, we spent the next two weeks figuring it out.
Dante didn't want to leave me alone, and it turned out that I didn't mind having a giant, attractive vampire glued to my side. So, we spent almost all our time together.
I bounced ideas off him, and he attempted to understand how angelic magic worked enough to offer advice. His advice was usually shit, but I gave him credit for trying.
I usually ended up texting River to bounce those same ideas off someone who could contribute more, too. I'd been worried about it at first, but the conversations were strangely easy.
Dante still had to attend a bunch of meetings (blah), so I went with him. I always waited in his office or sat in the chair beside his, still adjusting the details of my plans for the magic I'd need to weave.
No one at the meetings said anything negative about me attending for no reason. In fact, most of them complimented me, or congratulated us on our mate bond.
Turns out, being mated to a rich dude has way more perks than I would've expected.
So, Dante and I were together all the time.
We ate together.
Talked.
Joked around.
Traded stories.
Went to a charity gala together (and left early, after the eighth person bumped into me and Dante nearly ripped their head off).
I watched him fight, when someone challenged him for his throne. That was slightly terrifying, but the fight wasn't close.
And yeah, we fucked, too. It was never scheduled (I had access to his schedule, so I knew that for sure, unless he was hiding a second schedule somewhere).
Sex usually happened in a random place. Like his office, after a meeting.
Or in his car, outside some building he owned.
Once, we even fucked on the balcony outside my studio, after I dared him.
We had no neighbors, so it wasn't much of a dare, but he'd still taken me up on it.
Honestly, I felt happy when I was with him.
It was a strange feeling.
I'd been content for the last century, making and selling pottery. Happiness was something different.
Something better.
I found myself watching Dante, when he wasn't looking. Missing him, when he wasn't next to me. Wanting to tell him things, the few times we were apart.
I wasn't sure whether to love that or hate it, so I tried not to feel any way about it in particular. But I felt things.
Strong things that I wasn't ready to name yet.
Good, strong things.
After a few weeks, River and I were positive about what we'd need to weave, so we headed back to the prison.
It took us a few days to get the upper floors running the way we needed them to. When we were finally done, Dante had to peel me off the floor and carry me home.
My power well was empty again at that point, but that was going to change.
Dante and I were both quiet when we woke up the morning after the upper floors were done.
We knew what was coming.
We'd be taking the elevator back down.
Facing Reaper, with the fae royals.
And unraveling almost all of my old magic. That was what I dreaded the most.
Dante had made it clear that I would be staying behind him and the fae until Reaper was dead, but that was fine with me.
My mate tried to leave me in bed as he went downstairs to make coffee, but I slipped out from beneath the blankets and followed him. The loose t-shirt I had on swayed around the tops of my thighs, the slits on the back fitting my wings perfectly.
I hadn't complained when the top appeared in my closet.
I was no longer opposed to letting my mate spend his money on me. He worked hard for it, and it was definitely a benefit for me, so fighting it was stupid.
He liked making coffee for me on the days we didn't buy it, so I didn’t try to help. I just eased myself up onto the countertop next to the machine, sending my wings away so I didn't crush them in the process.
I watched in silence as he made a shot of espresso. One of his hands brushed my bare legs every time he had a moment. Or maybe he was making those moments fit the process.
“Should we talk about what could go wrong today?” I asked, as he added milk to our lattes. Oat milk for him, because he liked the flavor. The same for me, because I added enough sugar that I didn’t care what kind of milk I used.
“I’m not going to let anything go wrong.”
“But just in case…”
He looked up from the drink he was stirring meeting my eyes. “Nothing is going to happen to you. If something happens to me, you’ll be fine.”
My chest tightened. “Unless I’m not.”
“Losing their mate doesn’t usually kill an immortal.” He handed me my cup, and I wrapped my fingers around it. The glass was cold, thanks to the ice I always preferred in my drinks.
“There are ways to not be fine that don’t require dying.”
Dante set a hand on my thigh, meeting my gaze. “You’ll be fine.”
I shook my head slowly. “I don’t think I would be.”
“Angel.”
“Inferno.” I looked down at my coffee. “These last few weeks have been…” I trailed off, searching for the right word.
Amazing?
Perfect?
Blissful?
None of those things summed up the heart of the matter.
“The happiest of my life,” I finally said. “I don’t think I would be fine if this is all the time we had together.” I gestured between us, still not looking up from the cup.
There was a moment of silence before Dante gently took my chin in his hand. He tipped my head back, so our eyes met.
“They’ve been the happiest weeks of my life, too.”
I blinked quickly as my eyes burned a little. “Really?”
“Really. I’m not willing to let this go, either. The fae will deal with Reaper before he has the chance to get to you. You and I will focus on taking down the rest of the prison’s magic. It’s going to be hell for you, but you’ve survived worse.”
I nodded. "Just promise you'll be careful."
He leaned in and kissed me lightly before pulling away. "I'll be careful enough for both of us."
I slid my free hand into his hair, pulling him back as I parted his lips with my tongue.
Dante’s coffee cup hit the countertop a moment later, and he plucked mine out of my hand, setting it next to his.
He dragged me closer, turning me so he was standing between my thighs. His growing erection pressed against my center. I moaned into his mouth as he freed it from his boxer-briefs to drag the tip over my clit. I'd slept without panties on, thank god.
“We don’t have time for you to knot me,” I said into his mind.
“I’ll make time.”
He lined the head of his cock up with my entrance as he kissed me. I arched my hips, taking the tip of him, and we moved together as he filled me smoothly.
It wasn’t new anymore.
It wasn’t surprising, or wild, either.
It was familiar.
A kind of comfortable, safe pleasure that I’d never imagined myself having before.
One I was becoming sure that I would never get enough of.
“I’m falling in love with you, Angel,” Dante confessed against my lips, as he thrust into me slowly.
“I'm falling in love with you too,” I breathed.
“Thank fuck.”
A laugh spluttered out of me, and Dante’s responding grin immediately made me smile too.
My smile became a moan as he pulled out and filled me again, hitting that spot inside me just right.
We were late to the penitentiary, but only by two minutes.
Most of the fae royals and their mates were already there, given away by their glowing soulmate bonds. Jazz and River were there too, along with a few dozen other people I didn't recognize. There were enough powerful prisoners still locked away that we would need the extra hands.
The spring fae queen came jogging in two minutes after us, holding her soulmate's hand. They were glowing so brightly between their auras and their bond, that I couldn't tell what they looked like. Their major height difference was all I could really see.
Callum cleared his throat as soon as the spring fae queen and her mate had joined us, and everyone in the room looked his way.
He wasn't the kind of guy that people ignored.
"This should be a simple, in and out mission," Callum said.
"We're moving all of the prisoners to the top floor of the prison.
River and Jasmine will be leading, and shielding all of us.
Stay behind them until you've had other directions.
" He gestured toward them. "Ophelia and Dante will be at the back of the group, dismantling the magic and running the elevator when necessary.
Stay out of their way. Those of you who are assigned to them already have your orders. "
I glanced around, but couldn't tell who that was supposed to be given the mass quantity of vibrant, magical auras rolling through the room.
"Kat, Merrily, and Grayson will be up here to keep an eye on things.
Any prisoners who try to escape during the transfer will trade their lives for the attempt.
Anyone who hurts someone on our team will pay with their life as well.
We'll go in, move the prisoners, secure them, and get out.
No one tries to be a hero. No one dies. Hopefully, we can get this done before lunchtime. "
I looked at Dante. "There's no way in hell anyone is going to be done by lunchtime."
"Not a chance," he agreed.
It would be a miracle if Dante and I made it out by dinnertime. I would need to unravel a ton of magic just to operate the elevator as many times as they'd need me to. I barely had enough power to manage one trip down and back up, at the moment.
"Who's handling Reaper?" Jazz asked Callum.
"That would be us." The guy from one of the fae pairs lifted a hand. I was pretty sure it was the summer king, Darius, and his mate. I didn't know her name, but she was an assassin.
"Be careful," Jazz warned.
"We'll have more fun if he puts up a fight," Darius countered.
"All of us will stay in a group until we have Reaper under control. The rest of the prisoners should fall in line easier than he does, thanks to my magic," Callum clarified. "Can we all make it down in one trip?"
He went silent, and I realized he was probably looking at me. I couldn't see his face through his aura, given the distance between us.
"We have too many," Dante said. "We'll have to take two trips. And I don't know if Ophelia has the power reserves to work the elevator twice in a row without unraveling part of the prison, first."
Everyone looked at me.
I shook my head. "I'm tapped out. I'll need some time to unravel downstairs first. We get one trip."
"How much time will you need?" Callum asked.
"At least ten minutes. Maybe more."
"Thirty," Dante corrected. "She's taking it slow."
"It'll hurt less that way," River agreed.
"Is there a limit to how many times you'll be able to run the elevator over all?" Callum asked. He must've been looking at me.
"A large limit, but yeah. By the time I take down all of the magic woven through the entire lower half of the prison, I'd guess that I'll be able to run the elevator twenty or thirty times. I'll be exhausted, though."
"And you need thirty minutes to unravel enough magic to run it once?"
"Ten," I corrected.
"Thirty," Dante corrected me.
"We're not getting out of here by lunchtime," Callum said.
I shook my head.
He turned. I was pretty sure he was looking at his mate, even though I couldn't really see her.
"I'll order lunch for everyone, and Grayson and I will trade places with you after we eat," one of the female fae said. I was pretty sure it was Merrily, but with all of the auras, I couldn't really tell.
"We might have to," Callum agreed reluctantly.
"It'll be fine," Kat said, her voice upbeat.
"Let's get this over with," he finally grumbled. "As many of us as we can fit will take the elevator down. If we need help, everyone else will come down in half an hour."
Nods went through the group.
We all headed for the elevator, for what I seriously hoped would be my last time descending into the hell I'd created.