Chapter 47
Chapter
Forty-Seven
Elijah
R ain that felt more like sleet continued to come down in sheets. The thunder ceased for a moment, screams and battle cries rent the air. Pain streaked through my skull in a blinding flash of light. My body went limp, and I hit the ground on my knees. Rocks and tree bark bit into my knees even through the heavy denim of my jeans. All of Uttu’s feelings and thoughts disappeared. My shoulders felt lighter and my chest no longer felt constricted. Although I don’t remember it feeling constricted prior to this. Uttu was gone.
Climbing to my feet, clothes soaked through with icy water clung to my skin. The cold of nothing compared to the chill that washed over me as an explosion followed closely by three screams sounded in the distance. Right on its heels, Kainda’s voice screaming in pain, “DELMIRA!”
I bolted for the battlefield, ripping off the bracelet around my wrist. My connection to her turning into an urgent need with each passing second. But it didn’t snap into place like it had the last time the braid leather loop had come off. Limbs and debris lashed at me as I ran for Kainda. The treeline broke open into the clearing where the battle had taken place. People were scattered everywhere, regrouping and tending to the injured. I zeroed in on Kainda on her butt on the ground, a silent scream frozen on her face.
Seeing her on the ground was a punch to the gut until my connection to her told me she was unhurt. So relieved to feel that connection to her again, I nearly missed a step. But it was a short-lived feeling. Her grief hit me like a baseball bat. Even from across the clearing and through the heavy rain, I could see tears dripping off her face as more spilled past her lashes.
“Kainda!” I ran for her as she scuttled back from the torn up ground where the portal must have formed. Looking around, I saw several of the injured creatures tending to one another. The witches all looked worse for wear, some even appeared green around the edges. Many were already in celebration mode despite injuries and exhaustion.
I knelt down at Kainda’s side, looking her over from head to toe to confirm what our psychic connection had already told me. The tears streaming down her face sprang from shock. Her eyes already red as she silently sobbed. Something terrible had happened.
“What happened? Where’s Delmira?”
She turned to me, hiccuping as she spoke. “Delmira went through the portal with Uttu. She’s as good as dead in Gehenna. If she’s not dead now, then she will be soon. There isn’t a demon alive down there that wouldn’t hesitate to kill her on sight. Her soul makes her a hot commodity.”
Pulling her into me felt necessary, but she wanted nothing to do with the embrace. She jerked, pulled, and pushed against my hold as her sobs grew louder. After a minute, the fight went out of her, and she collapsed into me. Evin and Hida came over, sitting on either side of me. The women leaned over, laying their foreheads against Kainda’s shoulders. Bronwen came over, sitting in front of me, and took one of Kainda’s hands, holding it tight between her own. Together we sat in a sea of sorrow.
I could see Althea moving around from person to person, doing what she could to heal the injured. Althea hadn’t lent her own magic to the battle, she’d served as a conduit for Kainda’s magic, so she was the only one with any energy to provide magical aid at the moment. Those with only minor injuries, began to help the seriously wounded off the mountain. Green oval-shaped portals started popping open around the clearing.
One of the Valkyries who’d fought in the battled walked among the bodies on the ground, occasionally stopping to place a hand over their hearts. She looked up as more Valkyries stepped through the portals. With no other acknowledgement of their presence, she went back to collecting the souls of the fallen. The newcomers did the same thing, as one last portal opened, and four Amazons came through. They carried wooden sleds and worked in pairs to place the bodies gently on top of the sleds.
A few minutes later, the portals opened again, and the Valkyries disappeared through them, except for one. It was the Valkyrie who’d fought with us. Her knees bent before she propelled herself into the sky and flew off. The Amazons had also finished their task and began to take the dead down the mountain to get the bodies back to their people for burial. Without the creak of the leather they wore or the clinking of metal armor on more metal, the clearing felt eerily quiet.
Finally, only the four of us remained in the clearing. Sitting on the cold, wet ground and dark had fully fallen. At some point, the rain had stopped. Hida slowly stood, pulling Evin up with her. The pair stretched for a moment, working out the kinks from their uncomfortable positions. Evin dried the tears from her face, while Hida’s appeared completely dry. The two shared a look before Evin walked off toward the trail to head down the mountain.
“Evin and I are going to leave. You need to shake it off long enough to get off this gods’ forsaken mountain in one piece. Let Elijah help you. We’ll see you in a few days to plan a memorial for Delmira. Get some rest.” Hida turned to me. “Take care of her and don’t let her push you away. Thank you for being the bait.”
I nodded to her and waited for her to leave. Once I could no longer hear their footsteps on the trail, I turned to Kainda and Bronwen. Mother and daughter clung to one another. My heart broke for them. Bronwen got onto her knees and kissed Kainda’s forehead. “I’m so sorry for your loss, sweetheart. She was a kind soul, and I’m glad you had her in your life when I couldn’t be there for you. We’ve got to get you off this mountain and into some dry clothes.”
Holding out my hand, I helped Bronwen to her feet. “Thank you for being here. I can take her from here. Go help the injured, they should be back at the base.”
“Take good care of my girl, she needs you now more than ever. I’ll check in on her soon.” Without another word, she left us alone in the clearing.
I helped Kainda to her feet, keeping her in my arms until I felt her legs steady beneath her. Taking her hand, I got us moving down the trail in silence. A long, miserable hike back to the temporary base where we’d left some of our gear mocked me. Hiking in wet jeans is inadvisable.
When we arrived at base, no one was there and most people’s gear was gone too. Kainda still appeared shell-shocked. I dug through her bag until I found her some dry clothes, which I shoved into her hands. Getting my own clothes, I herded her toward the bathroom.
She changed first and then went to the sleeping bag. I watched her curl up and close her eyes before I changed my own clothes. Leaving the door open as I did, so I could keep an eye on her. I rinsed the mud out of our clothes and draped them over some old pipes to dry. She looked exhausted, lying there staring at the wall across the large room. The space felt huge with just the two of us here.
Crawling in next to her, I felt her shivering. We needed to talk, but she needed to sleep more. Kainda still her contrary self didn’t cooperate with that plan. She turned over to face me, fisting her hands in my shirt. Her eyes shone with a dozen different heavy emotions.
“I know you want to talk about your feelings and a relationship. E, I’m not made of the most fragile china, so I’m going to need you to talk before I cry some more. I’m not a fan of crying.” When I didn’t immediately start talking, panic lit her eyes wide. “Talk!” Hysteria edged her voice, shadowing the anger.
“We don’t have to talk right now, Kainda. You need time to grieve your loss and heal. We can talk in a few days.” I tried to placate her, but from the fury now brightening her eyes, I’d made a mistake.
“Would you– for the love of Gaia– just tell me how you feel already!” The words came through gritted teeth.
“Okay, if you insist. I think I could love you, Kainda.”
Her sharp eyes narrowed. “You think you could love me?”
“I’m in fact certain I love you, but I thought that might make you flee the room, the town, and the darned country.” I returned her stern look, waiting for her to toss more reasons we couldn’t be together in my face.
Instead of getting a laundry list of reasons why we shouldn’t be together, I got something else entirely. Her fingers uncurled from the fabric of my shirt for just a moment before she used the material to pull me in closer. Unexpected was one word to describe the kiss she laid on me. All the pain she felt bled into me through that kiss. As much as she claimed she was ready to talk about this, she wasn’t. She wanted something to distract her from the crushing loss.
When the talking hadn’t done the trick to make her forget the pain, she’d turned to a physical outlet. Nothing I could say or do would take the pain away. But if she wanted to use me to forget for a moment, then I’d gladly let her. There wasn’t a thing on this earth that I wouldn’t do for her.
I kissed her back, just as strong and passionately as she kissed me. The attraction between us sparked and swept us both under. Kainda pulled back, yanking her shirt over her head and tossing it away. She did that hand rolling motion that meant come on, you too. I obliged her, sitting up and taking my shirt off. Her eyes tracked every movement I made. I could feel her eyes caressing me everywhere she gazed upon. The air felt charged with electricity, and time didn’t seem to move, either.
I held my hand out to her, pulling her into me when she took it. She licked her kiss swollen lips and her hair started to rise as if in an electrical storm. Clear, white sparks began popping off the tips of her hair, bright in the dimly lit room. Her hands stroked over my chest, up my neck, and into my hair. A trail of sparks blazed in the wake of her hands.
She kissed me again as my hands caressed all of her lovely exposed skin. Little zaps nipped at my fingers and if I could’ve seen my hands on her back I’m sure I’d have seen more of those sparks. Her magic turned into a living, breathing thing surrounding us and I could feel its presence even without the help of a spell, this time. My temperature spiked, my heart raced, and my breathing turned into a pant.
The rest of our clothes came off in a rush. Kainda’s nails scraped my scalp and her teeth nipped my lips. Everywhere our skin touched, more sparks sprayed out like fireworks. Magic became an undulating force wrapping around us like the wind caressing us. Our heavy breathing and sounds of passion joined the crackle of magic in the quiet of the room. I had to wonder if her magic would always make sex so explosive. God, I could only hope so!
Kainda pushed me onto my back, then rolled us until she’d pinned herself beneath me. Looking up at me, her eyes showed me the love she felt for me. Seeing it there, I could wait for the words. I couldn’t wait for more of her. As if she could read my mind— hell, maybe she still could from that last spell— Kainda wrapped her legs around my waist.
“Elijah, please.”
Slowly I joined our bodies. Her head tilted back, exposing her long neck, as she moaned. Sharp nails bit into the skin over my shoulders. Our bodies moved together in perfect sync. Kainda looked at me, her gaze never wavering. Her fingers tangled in my hair, and she used her grip to pull me in for a kiss. Too much and not enough. She felt beyond perfect beneath me.
Kainda broke the kiss, crying out as her inner muscles spasmed around me. Her orgasm created a shower of sparks raining off her skin. I followed right behind her into ecstasy. Holding her close to my chest, I collapsed on my side, tucking her in close to me. We laid together, trying to catch our breath as the sparks died away, and our heart rates returned to normal. Her magic receded, taking the weighted feeling with it.
After a few minutes in silence, Kainda eased away from me to make eye contact. She took a big, deep breath, blowing it out slowly. “Okay, you love me. Great, now only a few questions remain. Can you live with the fact I’m stronger than you? I’m more badass than you. Can you be okay with the fact I want to keep demon hunting and that I’ll never be happy living a safe, little life in the suburbs with you? If you can handle all of that, then maybe we can see how this thing goes.” As she said the last words, a smile began to creep across her face. A beautiful sight, even if still a bit sad.
“I think I’ll learn to live with those things because I need you in my life, Kainda. You are worth learning anything. So am I on like a thirty-day probationary period?”
She chuckled in surprise for a too brief moment. The kiss Kainda planted on me, just as intense as her personality. She snuggled into me as she whispered. “It’s more like a ninety-day probationary period. I can’t handle any whirlwind romance, E.”
“I’m sorry, but this has been a whirlwind romance.”
“Shut up and let’s get some shut-eye. I love you, Elijah.” She kissed me again before burying her face in my neck and falling asleep.